Language-Trained Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Name What They Have Seen but Look First at What They Have Not Seen

Abstract

Metacognition can be defined as knowing what one knows, and the question of whether nonhuman animals are metacognitive has driven an intense debate. We tested three language-trained chimpanzees in an information-seeking task in which the identity of a food item was the critical piece of information needed to obtain the food. In two experiments, the chimpanzees were significantly more likely to visit a container first on trials in which they could not know its contents but were more likely to just name the item without looking into the container on trials in which they had earlier seen the contents of that container. Thus, chimpanzees showed efficient information-seeking behavior that suggested they knew what they had or had not already seen when it was time to name a hidden item.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and human children (Homo sapiens) know when they are ignorant about the location of food

“…Furthermore, the study stands as a complementary counterpart to Call and Carpenter's (2001) research demonstrating that chimpanzees and children will also seek more information when they know they are ignorant (Beran et al 2013;Call 2010;Call and Carpenter 2001). Chimpanzees and all other great ape species have also demonstrated information-seeking behavior in more complex paradigms (Beran et al, 2013;Call 2010). Collectively, the combined evidence suggests that great apes have some capacity to know when they are knowledgeable and when they are ignorant across a variety of contexts.…”

“…Further, the current results complement Haun et al's (2011) findings that chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, and bonobos will selectively choose a smaller reward when the potential for finding a larger one is less probable, due to baiting concealment or a larger cup array. Furthermore, the study stands as a complementary counterpart to Call and Carpenter's (2001) research demonstrating that chimpanzees and children will also seek more information when they know they are ignorant (Beran et al 2013;Call 2010;Call and Carpenter 2001). Chimpanzees and all other great ape species have also demonstrated information-seeking behavior in more complex paradigms (Beran et al, 2013;Call 2010).…”

Not knowing what one knows: A Meaningful failure of metacognition in capuchin monkeys.

“…Other apes also showed good evidence of memory monitoring, and adaptive use of trial-decline responses on difficult memory tests (e.g., Suda-King, 2008;Suda-King, Bania, Stromberg, & Subiaul, 2013). Beran, Smith, and Perdue (2013) designed a task in which chimpanzees had to report what was in a box using a lexigram communication system. In some conditions the chimpanzees saw the object, and in other conditions they did not and would have to travel to inspect the contents of the box prior to making a report.…”

Development of Meta-Representations: Procedural Metacognition and the Relationship to Theory of Mind

“…However, as these studies focused on declarative metacognitive knowledge, the question about the relation between procedural metacognition (monitoring) and ToM is still unanswered. Some authors have argued, based on findings concerning relatively good uncertainty monitoring skills in non-human primates (Call, 2010;Beran, Smith, & Perdue, 2013;Washburn, Gulledge, Beran, & Smith, 2010); as well as in infants and toddlers (Balcomb & Gerken, 2008), that for monitoring, no meta-representation of one`s performance in the task at hand is necessary. In other words, it has been argued that procedural metacognition may only rely on perceptual inputs and an ambiguity thereof rather than requiring the ability to reflect on one`s certainty or uncertainty (Lyons & Ghetti, 2010.…”