The Arena System: a novel shared touch-panel apparatus for the study of chimpanzee social interaction and cognition

Martin, Christopher F.; Biro, Dora; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

doi:10.3758/s13428-013-0418-y

Cited by 17 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Future studies should explore the putative effects of competition and social facilitation (or rather social disruption) in more detail, and the co-acting paradigm appears to be a promising research avenue (see Martin et al 2014 ) in this regard. Ultimately, larger sample sizes will be needed to better understand the mechanisms underpinning social comparison processes in non-human animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do monkeys compare themselves to others?

et al. 2015

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Social comparisons are a fundamental characteristic of human behaviour, yet relatively little is known about their evolutionary foundations. Adapting the co-acting paradigm from human research (Seta in J Pers Soc Psychol 42:281–291, 1982. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.42.2.281), we examined how the performance of a partner influenced subjects’ performance in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Using parallel testing in touch screen setups in which subjects had to discriminate familiar and novel photographs of men and women, we investigated whether accuracy and reaction time were influenced by partner performance and relationship quality (affiliate vs. non-affiliate). Auditory feedback about the alleged performance of the co-actor was provided via playback; partner performance was either moderately or extremely better or worse than subject performance. We predicted that subjects would assimilate to moderately different comparison standards as well as to affiliates and contrast away from extreme standards and non-affiliates. Subjects instantly generalized to novel pictures. While accuracy was not affected by any of the factors, long reaction times occurred more frequently when subjects were tested with a non-affiliate who was performing worse, compared to one who was doing better than them (80 % quantile worse: 5.1, better: 4.3 s). For affiliate co-actors, there was no marked effect (worse: 4.4, better: 4.6 s). In a control condition with no auditory feedback, subjects performed somewhat better in the presence of affiliates (M = 77.8 % correct) compared to non-affiliates (M = 71.1 %), while reaction time was not affected. Apparently, subjects were sensitive to partner identity and performance, yet variation in motivation rather than assimilation and contrast effects may account for the observed effects.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10071-015-0943-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do monkeys compare themselves to others?

et al. 2015

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“…Recently, Schmitt (2019) proposed a new, portable computer touchscreen system known as the zoo-based animal-computer-interaction system (ZACI) for application in zoos, allowing dual-purpose cognitive testing and enrichment. Similarly, the Arena System (Martin et al, 2014) allows cognitive testing of captive great apes, with an inbuilt food reward dispenser.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Tech and Tactile: Cognitive Enrichment for Zoo-Housed Gorillas

et al. 2019

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The field of environmental enrichment for zoo animals, particularly great apes, has been revived by technological advancements such as touchscreen interfaces and motion sensors. However, direct animal-computer interaction (ACI) is impractical or undesirable for many zoos. We developed a modular cuboid puzzle maze for the troop of six Western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) at Bristol Zoo Gardens, United Kingdom. The gorillas could use their fingers or tools to interact with interconnected modules and remove food rewards. Twelve modules could be interchanged within the frame to create novel iterations with every trial. We took a screen-free approach to enrichment: substituting ACI for tactile, physically complex device components, in addition to hidden automatic sensors, and cameras to log device use. The current study evaluated the gorillas’ behavioral responses to the device, and evaluated it as a form of “cognitive enrichment.” Five out of six gorillas used the device, during monthly trials of 1 h duration, over a 6 month period. All users were female including two infants, and there were significant individual differences in duration of device use. The successful extraction of food rewards was only performed by the three tool-using gorillas. Device use did not diminish over time, and gorillas took turns to use the device alone or as one mother-infant dyad. Our results suggest that the device was a form of cognitive enrichment for the study troop because it allowed gorillas to solve novel challenges, and device use was not associated with behavioral indicators of stress or frustration. However, device exposure had no significant effects on gorilla activity budgets. The device has the potential to be a sustainable enrichment method in the long-term, tailored to individual gorilla skill levels and motivations. Our study represents a technological advancement for gorilla enrichment, an area which had been particularly overlooked until now. We wholly encourage the continued development of this physical maze system for other great apes under human care, with or without computer logging technology.

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“…A single multi-touch monitor spanned across a common wall between two adjacent testing booths, giving the individual in each of the booths tactile access to half of the screen and visual access to the whole screen 31 . Numeral sets were presented at random locations across the whole of the screen, thereby requiring the subjects to alternately touch them in ascending order (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chimpanzees spontaneously take turns in a shared serial ordering task

Martin

Biro

Matsuzawa

2017

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Social coordination can provide optimal solutions to many kinds of group dilemmas, and non-human subjects have been shown to perform single actions successively or simultaneously with partners to maximize food rewards in a variety of experimental settings. Less attention has been given to showing how animals are able to produce multiple (rather than single) intermixed and co-regulated actions, even though many species’ signal transmissions and social interactions rely on extended bouts of coordinated turn-taking. Here we report on coordination behaviour in three pairs of chimpanzees (mother/offspring dyads) during an experimentally induced turn-taking scenario. Participants were given a “shared” version of a computer-based serial ordering task that they had previously mastered individually. We found that minimal trial-and-error learning was necessary for the participants to solve the new social version of the task, and that information flow was more pronounced from mothers toward offspring than the reverse, mirroring characteristics of social learning in wild chimpanzees. Our experiment introduces a novel paradigm for studying behavioural coordination in non-humans, able to yield insights into the evolution of turn-taking which underlies a range of social interactions, including communication and language.

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The Arena System: a novel shared touch-panel apparatus for the study of chimpanzee social interaction and cognition

Cited by 17 publications

References 28 publications

Do monkeys compare themselves to others?

Do monkeys compare themselves to others?

High-Tech and Tactile: Cognitive Enrichment for Zoo-Housed Gorillas

Chimpanzees spontaneously take turns in a shared serial ordering task

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