Comparative studies of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri) and titi monkeys (Callicebus) in travel tasks

Squirrel and titi monkeys were observed in a series of experiments in which the subjects' task was to move to a distant goal along above-ground pathways. The pathways were entirely visible to the subjects in all experiments. However, visual cues along the pathways (in Experiment I) and physical and spatial properties of the pathways (in Experiments II and III) were varied systematically in order to determine what effect features had upon selection of travel paths for monkeys of each species. Marked performance differences between the species were evident in these experiments, including differences in latency to move past the choice point, proportion of trials in which the shortest route was chosen first, and changes over test sessions in frequency of initial choice of the shortest route. In particular, titis tended to move past the choice point more slowly than squirrel monkeys; to pay more attention to distant properties of the pathways prior to making a decision, especially after experience in the test setting; and to prefer habitual pathways when these were available, whereas squirrel monkeys preferred novel routes when these were available. The relative "optimality" of decision making in these tasks in relation to species-typical modes of traveling and foraging in natural habitats is discussed. An alternative view of decision making, in which optimality is not assumed to be the only decision-making strategy, is suggested as an appropriate vehicle for further investigation into the sources of short-term variability in choice behavior.