Chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes</i>) display limited behavioural flexibility when faced with a changing foraging task requiring tool use

Harrison, Rachel A.; Whiten, Andrew

doi:10.7717/peerj.4366

Cited by 23 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Factors related to cautiousness such as neophobia and inhibitory control, promote cognitive plasticity and problem‐solving skills in apes (Beran & Hopkins, ; Damerius et al, , Damerius, Graber, Willems, & van Schaik, 2017; Forss et al, ; MacLean et al, ; Manrique et al, ). However, socially biased neophobia can also be related to prevention of behavioral flexibility leading to conservatism, which in turn hinders innovativeness (Gruber, Muller, Strimling, Wrangham, & Zuberbühler, ; Harrison & Whiten, ; Hrubesch, Preuschoft, & van Schaik, ; Price, Wood, & Whiten, ). By addressing both within species plasticity and intraspecific comparisons, future research can hopefully clarify the role of neophobia and cautiousness in the adaptation of new foraging techniques demanding behavioral flexibility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in novel food response betweenPongoandPan

Forss

Motes-Rodrigo

Hrubesch

et al. 2019

American J Primatol

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The diversity of great ape diets requires behavioral flexibility. Consequently, the exploration of potentially novel food sources is supposedly beneficial, but simultaneously, apes show high neophobia to prevent harmful and poisonous food intake. Social information, such as presence of group members or observations of nonnaïve, experienced individuals have been demonstrated to affect the acceptance of novel food items in primates. Sociality may have evolutionary effects on the response of apes to novel foods. Here we assess the social information hypothesis, which predicts that selection favors higher neophobia in species where social information is abundant.We report the results from 134 great apes housed in multiple facilities from four closely related species that naturally differ in their degree of sociality: Pongo pygmaeus, Pongo abelii, Pan troglodytes and Pan paniscus. We examined individuals' reactions to novel foods when alone, which enabled us to detect any inherent differences and revealed significant distinctions between species. Chimpanzees and bonobos, that are naturally exposed to higher amounts of social information, were less likely to consume novel foods alone (showed higher neophobia) than the two more solitary orangutan species.Chimpanzees were especially cautious and showed higher explorative behaviors before tasting novel food than other species. Age influenced neophobia as younger individuals of all species took longer to taste novel foods than adults did. K E Y W O R D Sgreat apes, neophobia, novel food, sociality, social information

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in novel food response betweenPongoandPan

Forss

Motes-Rodrigo

Hrubesch

et al. 2019

American J Primatol

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“…An alternative explanation for the fact that nut-cracking did not emerge in this study is that the chimpanzees were hindered by their lack of behavioural flexibility, a commonly recorded phenomenon in chimpanzees (e.g., Harrison & Whiten, 2018). The chimpanzees in the current study seemed to become fixated on one solution to open the nuts: i.e., the use of their teeth.…”

Section: Behavioural Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 62%

“…The heuristic (Marsh, 2002) in this case may be that nuts (in general) can be opened with teeth-and indeed our macadamia nuts were no exception. Chimpanzees have been shown to be reluctant to display behavioural flexibility in abandoning a previously successful solution (see Harrison & Whiten, 2018;Hrubesch, Preuschoft & van Schaik, 2008; but see also Manrique, Völter & Call, 2013). Thus, it is possible that the first individual to successfully crack a nut with the use of teeth (see Fig.…”

Section: Behavioural Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the individual and social learning abilities of task-naïve captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes sp.) in a nut-cracking task

Neadle

Bandini

Tennie

2020

PeerJ

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Nut-cracking is often cited as one of the most complex behaviours observed in wild chimpanzees. However, the cognitive mechanisms behind its acquisition are still debated. The current null hypothesis is that the form of nut-cracking behaviour relies on variants of social learning, with some researchers arguing, more precisely, that copying variants of social learning mechanisms are necessary. However, to date, very few experiments have directly investigated the potentially sufficient role of individual learning in explaining the behavioural form of nut-cracking. Despite this, the available data provides some evidence for the spontaneous acquisition of nut-cracking by chimpanzees; later group acquisition was then found to be at least facilitated by (unspecified) variants of social learning. The latter findings are in line with both suggested hypotheses, i.e., that copying social learning is required and that other (non-copying) social learning mechanisms are at play. Here we present the first study which focused (initially) on the role of individual learning for the acquisition of the nut-cracking behavioural form in chimpanzees. We tested task-naïve chimpanzees (N = 13) with an extended baseline condition to examine whether the behaviour would emerge spontaneously. After the baseline condition (which was unsuccessful), we tested for the role of social learning by providing social information in a step-wise fashion, culminating in a full action demonstration of nut-cracking by a human demonstrator (this last condition made it possible for the observers to copy all actions underlying the behaviour). Despite the opportunities to individually and/or socially learn nut-cracking, none of the chimpanzees tested here cracked nuts using tools in any of the conditions in our study; thus, providing no conclusive evidence for either competing hypothesis. We conclude that this failure was the product of an interplay of factors, including behavioural conservatism and the existence of a potential sensitive learning period for nut-cracking in chimpanzees. The possibility remains that nut-cracking is a behaviour that chimpanzees can individually learn. However, this behaviour might only be acquired when chimpanzees are still inside their sensitive learning period, and when ecological and developmental conditions allow for it. The possibility remains that nut-cracking is an example of a culture dependent trait in non-human great apes. Recommendations for future research projects to address this question are considered.

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“…It has been argued that non-human primates may be even more conservative in their actions than humans (e.g., Harrison & Whiten, 2018). Once they have found a solution to a task, non-human primates become fixed on it and are reluctant to switch, even when a potentially more rewarding alternative is available (Hrubesch et al, 2009;Marshall-Pescini & Whiten, 2008;Whiten et al, 2009;Hopper et al, 2011).…”

Section: Content Bias and Egocentric Bias In Human And Non-human Primmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual Differences in Intelligence and Personality Guide Human Social Learning

N¹,

Ge²,

Walker³

2019

Preprint

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Little is known about the extent to which individual differences guide social learning. Here we use individual differences in intelligence and personality, specifically openness to experience, to predict the social learning strategies people use. Participants (N = 220) completed a range of general intelligence tests, a personality questionnaire, and a battery of novel behavioral tasks. In each behavioral task participants were trained on the solution to a problem. They were then informed of an alternative solution to the same problem that varied in terms of its quality, simulating new social information. The extent to which participants switched to a superior solution measured content-biased social learning, and the extent to which they retained the trained solution, when presented with an alternative solution of equal or higher quality, measured egocentric bias. As predicted by cultural evolutionary theory, most participants exhibited content-biased social learning. However, a significant minority (20-40%) exhibited an egocentric bias, preferring to retain the familiar, but often suboptimal, trained solution. Higher general intelligence was associated with general solution switching but was more strongly related to switching to a superior solution. So, higher general intelligence predicted content-biased social learning. By contrast, higher openness to experience, and therefore lower egocentric bias, was uniquely associated with switching to an inferior solution. So, egocentric bias (or lower openness to experience) was adaptive as it inhibited participants from switching to a maladaptive solution. Our findings highlight the importance of individual differences in intelligence and personality to human social learning.

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Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) display limited behavioural flexibility when faced with a changing foraging task requiring tool use

Cited by 23 publications

References 80 publications

Differences in novel food response betweenPongoandPan

Differences in novel food response betweenPongoandPan

Testing the individual and social learning abilities of task-naïve captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes sp.) in a nut-cracking task

Individual Differences in Intelligence and Personality Guide Human Social Learning

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