The emergence of novel behavior is a multilayered phenomenon that comprehends distinct processes. One such process is known as insightful problem solving. "Insight" can be explained as the spontaneous interconnection of previously acquired behavioral repertoires. The objective of this study was to investigate: (1) whether capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) do show the interconnection of repertoires, and (2) whether different performances of problem solving could be produced by different training histories. Two repertoires were independently trained: (a) joining two pieces of a tool to manufacture a new tool and (b) raking food with one tool. In the test situation, food was out of reach, and two joinable pieces of a tool, different from the ones used in training, were presented. To solve the problem, the monkeys had to join the two pieces and rake the food with the new manufactured tool. In Experiment 1, one monkey received symmetric training (equal number of sessions) of both repertoires and solved the task, but not in an insightful manner. In Experiment 2, six monkeys were divided into two groups: one group received symmetric training, and the second group had asymmetrical training of the repertoires (unequal number of sessions). Subjects from the symmetric group performed as the monkey in Experiment 1; subjects from the other group showed a sudden insightful solution of the problem. The different performances in the same problem situation can be explained in terms of the behavioral history provided to each group of subjects.
Interconnection of behaviors is a process that describes how independently acquired behavioral repertoires can be combined together as a new sequence of behaviors. Manipulations of training, training context and experience of failure in the test situation can hinder this interconnection of previously acquired behaviors. We tested whether wild New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) could perform a sequence of six independently acquired behaviors in order to fetch a stone from inside a box in a nearby room and use it to gain food from a stone dropping apparatus. However, crows were only trained on three or four of the six behaviors required, and these prerequisites were trained in different contexts. One of the crows that learned four prerequisites solved the task. Neither of the crows that learned three prerequisites solved the task. The crows that learned four prerequisites, but did not solve the problem, were later trained in an additional behavior and then were able to solve the task. These results shows that New Caledonian crows are able to produce novel behavioral solutions to new problems by interconnecting behaviors learned in different contexts, with different consequences and despite experience of failure after the first exposure to the task.
Resolução de problemas por uma nova cadeia de respostas é uma forma abrangente de falar sobre recombinação de repertórios, entendida como a resolução de um problema a partir da reorganização de aprendizagens isoladas. Neste estudo, investigou-se a influência da cafeína no processo de recombinação em ratos. O procedimento consistiu em: 1) treino discriminativo, 2) campo aberto, 3) pré-teste, 4) treino dos repertórios pré-requisitos, 5) treino de recuperação, 6) teste de recombinação, e 7) campo aberto (reexposição). Os animais foram divididos em três grupos de quatro animais cada: grupo de administração de cafeína crônica, grupo agudo e grupo controle (sem cafeína). Nenhum animal do grupo agudo resolveu o problema, enquanto que animais dos grupos crônico e controle resolveram. Os dados indicam que a ingestão aguda inibiu a recombinação, bem como indicam que o procedimento utilizado é candidato a ser um modelo animal de comportamento novo (criatividade) para estudo de variáveis farmacológicas.
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