self communication in animal cognitoin Flashcards
how can mental states be measured in animals?
mirror tests
-performing self-directed actions when looking in a mirror is assumed to be an indicator of self-knowledge
mark tests
how do animals react to mirrors?
chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas, react to the mirror as if it is another ape
-use mirrors for self-inspection like pocking at their teeth but can learn that the figure is there body -> not indicate self-recognition
what are mark tests?
Povinelli et al. (1997)
Marks placed on the faces of chimpanzees by dying of of their eyebrows and the top of the chimpanzees ear
Frequency of touching marked and unmarked areas in the presence and absence of a mirror measured
-povinelli 1993 study, found smaller difference like 50% of touches on the marked vs unmarked regions when the mirror was introduced
how do humans perform on the mirror tests?
Babies typically pass mark tests at around 12-18 months
Huge cultural variation: Broesch et al. (2011) 3 year-old children, comparison of US (84%), Peru (51%), Fiji (0%) etc.
what did Reiss & Marino 2001 find?
adopted the process of povinelli 2007, where the mirror was a wall in a pool, and the dolphins would expose the marked parts to the mirror more. -> suggesting they were using the mirror to inspect the unfamiliar marks on their bodies
Dolphins can pass a variant of the mark test, but only after extensive exposure to mirrors
-In both humans and non-human animals, experience with mirrors seems to be a key prerequisite for passing mirror tests
what did Epstein et al 1981 do?
used specialised training to train pigeons to pass a mark test
-Trained to peck at visible dots on body without mirror
-Trained to peck at dots on walls using a mirror
- Pigeons then pecked at dots on body that were obscured by a bib, but visible in a mirror
what do mirror tests tell us?
-but the ability to recognise our own bodies in a mirror
Self-evidently, animals can do this without a mirror (e.g. for movement)
why do only some animals recognise their bodies in mirrors?
Speculation: Probably due to experience, and motivation to interact with the ‘animal in the mirror’
Animals probably differ in their sense of self, but mirror tests are unlikely to be diagnostic
what do animals know about the minds of others?
People make inferences about the mental states of others, known as theory of mind
This develops during childhood
what is the theory of mind that Heyes, 1998 found?
“An animal with a theory of mind believes that mental states play a causal role in generating behaviour and infers the presence of mental states in others by observing their appearance and behaviour”
how can evidence for theory of mind be found in deception?
numerous observation of apparent deception in the wild
what is a limitation of observations?
lack of control: we don’t know the history of these animals, or what might have happened in different circumstances
cherry picking: we dont know if these are widespread behaviours or rare occurrences
what did Woodruff & premack 1979 do?
invesitgated whether chimpanzees are capable of deception
In their innovative study, a chimpanzee was able to observe a laboratory assistant hide food under one of two containers. The chimpanzee was then placed in such a position that it could not reach the containers and the assistant left the room. Either a cooperative or a competitive trainer then entered the room.
As soon as the trainer had identified the container, he or she took the food to the chimpanzee. If the chimpanzee directed the competitive trainer to the container with food, however, the trainer kept the food and the chimpanzee remained hungry. On the other hand, if the competitive trainer was directed to the empty container, then it was the chimpanzee who received food and the trainer who went unrewarded.
-> Povinelli et al 1990 shown attribution of knowledge
what did Povinelli et al 1990 find in regards to attribution of knowledge?
Test condition:
One of the four cups shown in Figure 12.10 contains a small piece of food that the chimpanzee is allowed to eat if she selects the correct cup. The chimpanzee does not know which cup hides the food, and to help her with her choice two of her trainers are pointing to two different cups.
Food placed by a third person, knower and guesser both in the room
Subjects passed, after some training
what did Povinelli and Eddy 1996, find?
To gain a piece of food, the subjects were initially required to make a begging gesture in front of a trainer who was sitting beside the food. The chimpanzee was then presented with tests in which there were two trainers with the food between them. One of the trainers might have a bucket over her head, while the other would not.
Chimps did not reliably learn to beg from the attentive trainer
- they had extensive experience with people, and could have simply learned to discriminate the relevant visual stimuli (e.g. eyes).
- begin to develop theory of mind in chimpanzees after experiments involve humans
what did Hare et al 2001 find?
The experiment involved a dominant and a subordinate chimpanzee, who were tested with the apparatus sketched in Figure 12.11. The two chimpanzees were housed in cages that were on opposite sides of a test area in which there were two opaque barriers. On some trials, both chimpanzees watched a trainer place food on the subordinate’s side of one of the barriers before they were allowed into the arena. The subordinate was reluctant in this condition to approach the food and left it for the dominant chimpanzee who headed directly towards the food.
The subordinate takes the food only when the dominant does not see its placement
Yet again, this could be a simple discrimination
What does the angle of straight run describe in honeybee communication?
The bearing of the food from the sun
What does the length of straight run indicate in honeybee communication?
Distance
Who conducted studies on alarm calls in vervet monkeys?
Cheney and Seyfarth (1990), Seyfarth and Cheney (1993; 2003)
What are the two types of alarm calls identified in vervet monkeys?
- Specific
- Referential
True or False: Alarm calls in vervet monkeys imply theory of mind or intentional communication.
False
What is observed about alarm calls in the presence of conspecifics?
Calls are more likely in their presence, suggesting a tendency to make sounds when others are around
In which age group of vervet monkeys were alarm calls to baboons found?
Young vervets
What is a characteristic of alarm calls regarding flexibility?
Almost no examples of novel calls
What conclusion is drawn about alarm calls in animals?
They are not language, just a form of communication that suits the species
What is one important property of language mentioned in the text?
Productivity
What did Winthrop Kellogg do in the 1930s?
Adopted Gua and raised him alongside his son, Donald
What could Viki, the chimpanzee, say after four years?
- Mama
- Papa
- Cup
- Up
What is the most common system of symbols used in animal language research?
Yerkish
What is the average number of words learned by two-year-old children per day?
About ten
Fill in the blank: Chimpanzees lack the _______ for human speech.
vocal apparatus
What did Rivas (2005) study regarding chimpanzee utterances?
A large body of multi-word signed utterances
What was the mean length of utterance for Kanzi?
1.5
What did Kanzi respond correctly to in the study involving sentences?
298 out of 310 sentences
What did the best evidence for sentence comprehension come from?
A dolphin named Akeakamai
What conclusion is drawn about animal language production and comprehension?
Plenty of evidence for appropriate responses but little evidence of language production or comprehension
What are some possible reasons for the lack of language production in animals?
- Lack of cognitive mechanisms
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of exposure to language
- Inadequate testing of their abilities
What was the phrase signed by Nim that illustrates a lack of meaningful multi-word utterances?
Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you
What phrase did Lana sign that was explicitly trained?
Please machine give M&M period
What did Koko do (Patterson & Cohn 1994)?
use the mirror infront of her to examine herself
what did Anderson & Gallup 1997 find monkeys do after mirror tests?
chimpanzees will inspect their fingers and sometimes sniff them after touching a dyed mark on their body that can be seen only by looking in a mirror
