Primate Cognition in the Lab Flashcards
What is ecological validity? Why is it important to consider when discussing primate cognition in the lab?
possibility that experiments tap into real life problem solving skills; lab could suggest something when in actuality it is not true
What does “Match to Sample” (MTS) mean?
present sample, then alternatives, pick matching alternatives
What is special about match to sample processing?
all animals do in life, search world for good, good ecological validity
What is “transfer”?
apply learned concept or strategy to novel stimuli, require fewer “trials to criterion”;
“learning to learn”
What is “first trial success”?
after training, full immediate transfer to novel task and/or stimuli w/o additional reinforcement
trained to novel set: success then transfer as good as can get
What helps perceptual integration?
locomotor and object play help; play helps develop sensorimotor skills
What is cross modal mapping?
can do visual-haptic and visual-auditory recognition of stimulus presented in other modality
Who is better at cross modal mapping, apes or monkeys?
apes
What is the Weigl Principle?
can classify same object per different dimensions (color, size, shape, function)
What lab studies have studied how primates represent space and what have they shown about their ability?
primates can learn to navigate a virtual space i.e. some chimps can use toy object placed in 3D model to find real object in actual room, show efficient search abilities
Why would how primates represent space important for their survival?
efficient to never to go twice to the same hiding place in wild, chimp searches efficiently for food, etc.
Which primates are the most frequent tool users in the wild?
cebus (capuchin) and pan troglodytes (Chimp) most frequent tool users
What is object permanence?
ability to know object still exists even though it is hidden; remember location of multiple sties seen baited or not
Do primates exhibit object permanence? How have they exhibited this in the lab?
Yes; put ball in box, primate able to find it
Why is object permanence important for survival?
world = cluttered, animals need to know where things go
What are invisible displacements?
know that something is hidden, can infer that the object is gone even though did not see it go somewhere
i.e. Exp. hides apple at X, pear at Y, distracted, then see Exp eating apple => only look for Y
What are the result of invisible displacement tests?
several apes speies, but only one adult Cebus (of various monkeys tested), pass
What is the trap tube test supposed to test? Is it controversial?
causal reasoning; yes it’s controversial, johnson has serious problems with this
What is the trap tube test?
- clear tube with good in it, potential tools (in bundle, in pieces) to push food out in other room
How did Cebus respond to the trap tube test?
can hit upon solution after trying many alternatives, when trap mid tube, 1 Cebus learned to avoid, push food out other way but avoided even when trap rotated to top
How did apes respond to trap tube test?
apes tend to modify, try only appropriate tool
note: even chimps require many rials to learn, some persists in Cebus-like responses
What are the only three primates that interact in free play with objects?
Cebus, Papio, and Apes
How do chimps with extensive human interaction interact with nesting cups?
can spontaneously subassemble whole set
How do cebus and chimps do with nesting cups?
can put 1 or 2 small into large “pot method”
What is “insight” in relation to primates and completion of tasks?
when solution to task appears suddenly
How did Kohler’s Chimp Sulta display insight?
- banana suspended over cage, suddenly got up and stacked boxes to reach it
- treat outside cage; later discovered 2 short sticks could be joined, immediately used
How would you describe chimps in how they approach problems?
“contemplateive”
-take many trials to learn, but sometimes adjust to change
Only ______ ________ apes regularly “subassemble”
human enculturated
What primates display numerosity?
chimps and orangutans tested
What can we say about numerosity in primates?
of those tested, can learn to associate numerical symbols with quantities up to about 9
(True/False) Chimps can spontaneously add numbers
True; once master numerical associations
What is the greedy giveaway task?
Chimps previously trained with numerals:
- presented with 2 piles of M&Ms, one large, one small
- whichever pile pointed by pointer chimp to is given to other chimp
What are the results of the greedy giveaway task?
chimps fail unless use numerals in place of piles
-suggests symbol intervening between animal and treat enables delayed response
What was unique about the language trained chimp, Sarah?
-immediate success on proportions and functional analogies
How would the Weigl Principle be important in the wild?
be able to distinguish details in group so can distinguish between ally, parent, or child
What would be a use of visible displacement in the wild?
see food going into mouth of another primate and disappear
What would be a use of invisible displacement in the wild?
watch hand disappear into the hand of another , who then moves away with it
On numerosity tasks, chimps perform better than what other test subjects?
college students
What is a typical numerosity test?
once number trained, briefly see series of numbers, must touch squares in order
What is an example of a transitivity test?
trained to choose A over B and B over C; tested chose A over C
What are the possible social implications of transitivity?
deduce relative rank among social group
i.e. A dominant over B, B dominant over C, A dominant over C?
What were the reversal learning tests?
train conditional discrimination, reverse, teach again
What were the results of the reversal learning tests?
after first reversed trial, changed response strategy
What were the results of the conditional MTS?
Primates do not show transfer between problems; primates see first problem as relational, so second is not “same problem” to a primate
What are the results of the oddity test?
monkeys show transfer, see what matches to go to next trial; apes show first trial success
