Flexibility and Persistence of Chimpanzee (<i><scp>P</scp>an Troglodytes</i>) Foraging Behavior in a Captive Environmentxht

Bonnie, Kristin E.; Milstein, Marissa S.; Calcutt, Sarah E.; Ross, Stephen R.; Wagner, Kathy E.; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V.

doi:10.1002/ajp.22020

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Subsequent studies following a similar logic have provided mixed results, even considering only other studies with chimpanzees. Some have reported failure to adopt methods that were more profitable than those already in their repertoire (e.g., Bonnie et al, 2012;Hopper, Schapiro, Lambeth, & Brosnan, 2011;Hrubesch, Preuschoft, & van Schaik, 2009;Price, Lambeth, Schapiro, & Whiten, 2009). Others, in contrast, have reported the relinquishing of established techniques in favor of the more advantageous alternative (e.g., Hopper, Kurtycz, Ross, & Bonnie, 2015;Van Leeuwen, Cronin, Schütte, Call, & Haun, 2013;Yamamoto, Humle, & Tanaka, 2013).…”

Section: Studies Of Adaptive Solution-switchingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental assessment of capacities for cumulative culture: Review and evaluation of methods

Caldwell

Atkinson

Blakey

et al. 2019

WIRES Cognitive Science

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In the current literature, there are few experimental tests of capacities for cumulative cultural evolution in nonhuman species. There are even fewer examples of such tests in young children. This limited evidence is noteworthy given widespread interest in the apparent distinctiveness of human cumulative culture, and the potentially significant theoretical implications of identifying related capacities in nonhumans or very young children. We evaluate experimental methods upon which claims of capacities for cumulative culture, or lack thereof, have been based. Although some of the established methods (those simulating generational succession) have the potential to identify positive evidence that fulfills widely accepted definitions of cumulative culture, the implementation of these methods entails significant logistical challenges. This is particularly true for testing populations that are difficult to access in large numbers, or those not amenable to experimental control. This presents problems for generating evidence that would be sufficient to support claims of capacities for cumulative culture, and these problems are magnified for establishing convincing negative evidence. We discuss alternative approaches to assessing capacities for cumulative culture, which circumvent logistical problems associated with experimental designs involving chains of learners. By inferring the outcome of repeated transmission from the input–output response patterns of individual subjects, sample size requirements can be massively reduced. Such methods could facilitate comparisons between populations, for example, different species, or children of a range of ages. We also detail limitations and challenges of this alternative approach, and discuss potential avenues for future research.This article is categorized under:Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of CognitionCognitive Biology > Cognitive DevelopmentPsychology > Comparative Psychology

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Section: Studies Of Adaptive Solution-switchingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental assessment of capacities for cumulative culture: Review and evaluation of methods

Caldwell

Atkinson

Blakey

et al. 2019

WIRES Cognitive Science

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show abstract

“…When chimpanzees were faced with a new challenge, their previous knowledge either hindered the acquisition of the more optimal solution [22,23], or prevented them from trying the novel (more rewarding) alternative [24,25]. This relative inflexibility seemed to persist even when their familiar behaviour was made entirely ineffective [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Flexibly Adjust Their Behaviour in Order to Maximize Payoffs, Not to Conform to Majorities

et al. 2013

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Chimpanzees have been shown to be adept learners, both individually and socially. Yet, sometimes their conservative nature seems to hamper the flexible adoption of superior alternatives, even to the extent that they persist in using entirely ineffective strategies. In this study, we investigated chimpanzees’ behavioural flexibility in two different conditions under which social animals have been predicted to abandon personal preferences and adopt alternative strategies: i) under influence of majority demonstrations (i.e. conformity), and ii) in the presence of superior reward contingencies (i.e. maximizing payoffs). Unlike previous nonhuman primate studies, this study disentangled the concept of conformity from the tendency to maintain one’s first-learned strategy. Studying captive (n=16) and semi-wild (n=12) chimpanzees in two complementary exchange paradigms, we found that chimpanzees did not abandon their behaviour in order to match the majority, but instead remained faithful to their first-learned strategy (Study 1a and 1b). However, the chimpanzees’ fidelity to their first-learned strategy was overridden by an experimental upgrade of the profitability of the alternative strategy (Study 2). We interpret our observations in terms of chimpanzees’ relative weighing of behavioural options as a function of situation-specific trade-offs. More specifically, contrary to previous findings, chimpanzees in our study abandoned their familiar behaviour to maximize payoffs, but not to conform to a majority.

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“…This is a plausible alternative explanation because chimpanzees are known to occasionally explore different solutions regardless of social information (e.g. see Bonnie et al 2012; Dean et al 2012): If they happened to stumble upon a highly rewarding solution, they might switch their preference in line with optimal foraging behaviour instead of based on social information. Similarly, when the two experimentally induced variants differ qualitatively (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservatism and “copy-if-better” in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Leeuwen

Call

2016

Anim Cogn

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Social learning is predicted to evolve in socially living animals provided the learning process is not random but biased by certain socio-ecological factors. One bias of particular interest for the emergence of (cumulative) culture is the tendency to forgo personal behaviour in favour of relatively better variants observed in others, also known as the “copy-if-better” strategy. We investigated whether chimpanzees employ copy-if-better in a simple token-exchange paradigm controlling for individual and random social learning. After being trained on one token-type, subjects were confronted with a conspecific demonstrator who either received the same food reward as the subject (control condition) or a higher value food reward than the subject (test condition) for exchanging another token-type. In general, the chimpanzees persisted in exchanging the token-type they were trained on individually, indicating a form of conservatism consistent with previous studies. However, the chimpanzees were more inclined to copy the demonstrator in the test compared to the control condition, indicating a tendency to employ a copy-if-better strategy. We discuss the validity of our results by considering alternative explanations and relate our findings to the emergence of cumulative culture.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10071-016-1061-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Flexibility and Persistence of Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) Foraging Behavior in a Captive Environmentxht

Cited by 20 publications

References 36 publications

Experimental assessment of capacities for cumulative culture: Review and evaluation of methods

Experimental assessment of capacities for cumulative culture: Review and evaluation of methods

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Flexibly Adjust Their Behaviour in Order to Maximize Payoffs, Not to Conform to Majorities

Conservatism and “copy-if-better” in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

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