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Related Experiment Videos

Quantity-based interference and symbolic representations in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

S T Boysen1, G G Bernston, M B Hannan

  • 1Ohio State University, Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1222, USA.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes
|January 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Chimpanzees chose smaller candy amounts, losing rewards. When presented with numerals, they quickly learned to select smaller numbers to maximize candy rewards, showing symbolic reasoning overrides direct incentives.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Animal Behavior
  • Comparative Psychology

Background:

  • Chimpanzees possess numerical skills.
  • Understanding abstract representations is key in cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how chimpanzees make decisions involving numerical quantities.
  • To determine if symbolic representations influence reward maximization strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Five chimpanzees with numerical training were presented with choices between two arrays.
  • A reversed reinforcement contingency was used: selecting an array yielded the non-selected items.
  • Stimuli included both physical candy arrays and Arabic numerals representing quantities.

Main Results:

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  • Chimpanzees failed to maximize rewards when choosing between physical candy arrays.
  • Upon switching to Arabic numerals, all chimpanzees immediately adopted an optimal strategy, selecting smaller numerals for greater rewards.
  • Symbolic representations effectively overrode the interference caused by direct, high-incentive stimuli.

Conclusions:

  • Chimpanzees' performance is influenced by the nature of stimuli, with symbolic representations facilitating more rational decision-making.
  • The study highlights the power of abstract symbols in overcoming immediate, instinctual responses in numerical tasks.
  • Findings contribute to understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying abstract reasoning and decision-making in non-human primates.