| Records |
| Author |
Stoinski, T.S.; Wrate, J.L.; Ure, N.; Whiten, A. |
| Title |
Imitative learning by captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a simulated food-processing task |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
115 |
Issue  |
3 |
Pages |
272-281 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; *Discrimination Learning; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Gorilla gorilla; *Imitative Behavior; Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
Although field studies have suggested the existence of cultural transmission of foraging techniques in primates, identification of transmission mechanisms has remained elusive. To test experimentally for evidence of imitation in the current study, we exposed gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to an artificial fruit foraging task designed by A. Whiten and D. M. Custance (1996). Gorillas (n=6) watched a human model remove a series of 3 defenses around a fruit. Each of the defenses was removed using 1 of 2 alternative techniques. Subsequent video analysis of gorillas' behavior showed a significant tendency to copy the observed technique on 1 of the individual defenses and the direction of removal on another defense. This is the first statistically reliable evidence of imitation in gorillas. Sequence of defense removal was not replicated. The gorillas' responses were most similar to those of chimpanzees. |
| Address |
TECHlab, Zoo Atlanta, Georgia 30315, USA. stoinskit@mindspring.com |
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English |
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| ISSN |
0735-7036 |
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| Notes |
PMID:11594496 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
738 |
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| Author |
Gajdon, G.K.; Fijn, N.; Huber, L. |
| Title |
Limited spread of innovation in a wild parrot, the kea (Nestor notabilis) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
173-181 |
| Keywords |
Animal Communication; Animals; Diffusion of Innovation; Feeding Behavior; Female; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; *Motor Skills; *Parrots; *Problem Solving; Sex Factors; Social Dominance; Social Environment; Statistics, Nonparametric |
| Abstract |
In the local population of kea in Mount Cook Village, New Zealand, some keas open the lids of rubbish bins with their bill to obtain food scraps within. We investigated the extent to which this innovation has spread in the local population, and what factors limit the acquisition of bin opening. Only five males of 36 individually recognised birds were observed to have performed successful bin opening. With one exception there were always other keas present, watching successful bin opening. Seventeen additional individuals were seen to have benefitted from lid opening. Their foraging success was less than that of the bin openers. Social status of bin openers did not differ from scrounging males. Among the individuals that were regularly seen at the site of the bins but were not successful in bin opening, social status and the ratio of feeding directly from open bins correlated with the amount of opening attempts. We conclude that scrounging facilitated certain behavioural aspects of bin opening rather than inhibiting them. The fact that only 9% of opening attempts were successful, and the long period of time required to increase efficiency in lid opening shows that mainly individual experience, and to a lesser extent insight and social learning, play key roles in acquisition of the opening technique. The results indicate that the spread of innovative solutions of challenging mechanical problems in animals may be restricted to only a few individuals. |
| Address |
Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria. gyula.gajdon@univie.ac.at |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16568276 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2472 |
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| Author |
Call, J.; Carpenter, M.; Tomasello, M. |
| Title |
Copying results and copying actions in the process of social learning: chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and human children (Homo sapiens) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
8 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
151-163 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; *Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; Pan troglodytes; *Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; Random Allocation; *Social Environment; Species Specificity |
| Abstract |
There is currently much debate about the nature of social learning in chimpanzees. The main question is whether they can copy others' actions, as opposed to reproducing the environmental effects of these actions using their own preexisting behavioral strategies. In the current study, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and human children (Homo sapiens) were shown different demonstrations of how to open a tube-in both cases by a conspecific. In different experimental conditions, demonstrations consisted of (1) action only (the actions necessary to open the tube without actually opening it); (2) end state only (the open tube, without showing any actions); (3) both of these components (in a full demonstration); or (4) neither of these components (in a baseline condition). In the first three conditions subjects saw one of two different ways that the tube could open (break in middle; caps off ends). Subjects' behavior in each condition was assessed for how often they opened the tube, how often they opened it in the same location as the demonstrator, and how often they copied the demonstrator's actions or style of opening the tube. Whereas chimpanzees reproduced mainly the environmental results of the demonstrations (emulation), human children often reproduced the demonstrator's actions (imitation). Because the procedure used was similar in many ways to the procedure that Meltzoff (Dev Psych 31:1, 1995) used to study the understanding of others' unfulfilled intentions, the implications of these findings with regard to chimpanzees' understanding of others' intentions are also discussed. |
| Address |
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. call@eva.mpg.de |
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English |
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| ISSN |
1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15490290 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2504 |
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| Author |
Horner, V.; Whiten, A.; Flynn, E.; de Waal, F.B.M. |
| Title |
Faithful replication of foraging techniques along cultural transmission chains by chimpanzees and children |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
103 |
Issue |
37 |
Pages |
13878-13883 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Child, Preschool; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Pan troglodytes/*psychology |
| Abstract |
Observational studies of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have revealed population-specific differences in behavior, thought to represent cultural variation. Field studies have also reported behaviors indicative of cultural learning, such as close observation of adult skills by infants, and the use of similar foraging techniques within a population over many generations. Although experimental studies have shown that chimpanzees are able to learn complex behaviors by observation, it is unclear how closely these studies simulate the learning environment found in the wild. In the present study we have used a diffusion chain paradigm, whereby a behavior is passed from one individual to the next in a linear sequence in an attempt to simulate intergenerational transmission of a foraging skill. Using a powerful three-group, two-action methodology, we found that alternative methods used to obtain food from a foraging device (“lift door” versus “slide door”) were accurately transmitted along two chains of six and five chimpanzees, respectively, such that the last chimpanzee in the chain used the same method as the original trained model. The fidelity of transmission within each chain is remarkable given that several individuals in the no-model control group were able to discover either method by individual exploration. A comparative study with human children revealed similar results. This study is the first to experimentally demonstrate the linear transmission of alternative foraging techniques by non-human primates. Our results show that chimpanzees have a capacity to sustain local traditions across multiple simulated generations. |
| Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, United Kingdom |
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English |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0027-8424 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:16938863 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
159 |
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| Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Imitation: definitions, evidence, and mechanisms |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
335-353 |
| Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Motivation; *Social Environment; Transfer (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
Imitation can be defined as the copying of behavior. To a biologist, interest in imitation is focused on its adaptive value for the survival of the organism, but to a psychologist, the mechanisms responsible for imitation are the most interesting. For psychologists, the most important cases of imitation are those that involve demonstrated behavior that the imitator cannot see when it performs the behavior (e.g., scratching one's head). Such examples of imitation are sometimes referred to as opaque imitation because they are difficult to account for without positing cognitive mechanisms, such as perspective taking, that most animals have not been acknowledged to have. The present review first identifies various forms of social influence and social learning that do not qualify as opaque imitation, including species-typical mechanisms (e.g., mimicry and contagion), motivational mechanisms (e.g., social facilitation, incentive motivation, transfer of fear), attentional mechanisms (e.g., local enhancement, stimulus enhancement), imprinting, following, observational conditioning, and learning how the environment works (affordance learning). It then presents evidence for different forms of opaque imitation in animals, and identifies characteristics of human imitation that have been proposed to distinguish it from animal imitation. Finally, it examines the role played in opaque imitation by demonstrator reinforcement and observer motivation. Although accounts of imitation have been proposed that vary in their level of analysis from neural to cognitive, at present no theory of imitation appears to be adequate to account for the varied results that have been found. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. Zentall@uky.edu |
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English |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
1435-9448 |
ISBN |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:17024510 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
217 |
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| Author |
Klein, E.D.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Imitation and affordance learning by pigeons (Columba livia) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
117 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
414-419 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Columbidae; Cues; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Odors; Sound |
| Abstract |
The bidirectional control procedure was used to determine whether pigeons (Columba livia) would imitate a demonstrator that pushed a sliding screen for food. One group of observers saw a trained demonstrator push a sliding screen door with its beak (imitation group), whereas 2 other groups watched the screen move independently (possibly learning how the environment works) with a conspecific either present (affordance learning with social facilitation) or absent (affordance learning alone). A 4th group could not see the screen being pushed (sound and odor control). Imitation was evidenced by the finding that pigeons that saw a demonstrator push the screen made a higher proportion of matching screen pushes than observers in 2 appropriate control conditions. Further, observers that watched a screen move without a demonstrator present made a significantly higher proportion of matching screen pushes than would be expected by chance. Thus, these pigeons were capable of affordance learning. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-004, USA |
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English |
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0735-7036 |
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| Notes |
PMID:14717643 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
234 |
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| Author |
Topál, J.; Byrne, R.W.; Miklósi, Á.; Csányi, V. |
| Title |
Reproducing human actions and action sequences: “Do as I Do!” in a dog |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
355-367 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Comprehension; Conditioning, Operant; *Discrimination Learning; Dogs/*psychology; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Male; *Serial Learning |
| Abstract |
We present evidence that a dog (Philip, a 4-year-old tervueren) was able to use different human actions as samples against which to match his own behaviour. First, Philip was trained to repeat nine human-demonstrated actions on command ('Do it!'). When his performance was markedly over chance in response to demonstration by one person, testing with untrained action sequences and other demonstrators showed some ability to generalise his understanding of copying. In a second study, we presented Philip with a sequence of human actions, again using the 'Do as I do' paradigm. All demonstrated actions had basically the same structure: the owner picked up a bottle from one of six places; transferred it to one of the five other places and then commanded the dog ('Do it!'). We found that Philip duplicated the entire sequence of moving a specific object from one particular place to another more often than expected by chance. Although results point to significant limitations in his imitative abilities, it seems that the dog could have recognized the action sequence, on the basis of observation alone, in terms of the initial state, the means, and the goal. This suggests that dogs might acquire abilities by observation that enhance their success in complex socio-behavioural situations. |
| Address |
Comparative Ethology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Pazmany, P. 1/c H-1117, Hungary. kea@t-online.hu |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17024511 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2434 |
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| Author |
Tomasello, M.; Call, J. |
| Title |
The role of humans in the cognitive development of apes revisited |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
7 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
213-215 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; Culture; Hominidae/*psychology; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Intention; Social Behavior; *Social Environment; Species Specificity |
| Abstract |
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| Address |
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. tomas@eva.mpg.de |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15278733 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2517 |
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| Author |
Scheumann, M.; Call, J. |
| Title |
The use of experimenter-given cues by South African fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
7 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
224-230 |
| Keywords |
Animal Communication; Animals; *Association Learning; *Cues; Female; Fur Seals/*psychology; *Gestures; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Nonverbal Communication; Social Behavior; Species Specificity |
| Abstract |
Dogs can use a variety of experimenter-given cues such as pointing, head direction, and eye direction to locate food hidden under one of several containers. Some authors have proposed that this is a result of the domestication process. In this study we tested four captive fur seals in a two alternative object choice task in which subjects had to use one of the following experimenter-given cues to locate the food: (1) the experimenter pointed and gazed at one of the objects, (2) the experimenter pointed at only one of the objects, (3) the experimenter gazed at only one of the objects, (4) the experimenter glanced at only one of the objects, (5) the experimenter pointed and gazed at one of the objects but was sitting closer to one object than to the other, (6) the experimenter pointed only with the index finger at one of the objects, (7) the experimenter presented a replica of one of the objects. The fur seals were able to use cues which involved a fully exposed arm or a head direction, but failed to use glance only, the index finger pointing and the object replica cues. The results showed that a domestication process was not necessary to develop receptive skills to cues given by an experimenter. Instead, we hypothesize that close interactions with humans prior to testing enabled fur seals to uses ome gestural cues without formal training. We also analyzed the behavior of the seals depending on the level of difficulty of the task. Behavioral signs of hesitation increased with task difficulty. This suggests that the fur seals were sensitive to task difficulty. |
| Address |
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. Marina.Scheumann@tiho-hannover.de |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15057598 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2536 |
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| Author |
Bering, J.M. |
| Title |
A critical review of the “enculturation hypothesis”: the effects of human rearing on great ape social cognition |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
7 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
201-212 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; *Culture; Hominidae/*psychology; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Intention; Macaca; Psychological Theory; Social Behavior; *Social Environment; Species Specificity |
| Abstract |
Numerous investigators have argued that early ontogenetic immersion in sociocultural environments facilitates cognitive developmental change in human-reared great apes more characteristic of Homo sapiens than of their own species. Such revamping of core, species-typical psychological systems might be manifest, according to this argument, in the emergence of mental representational competencies, a set of social cognitive skills theoretically consigned to humans alone. Human-reared great apes' capacity to engage in “true imitation,” in which both the means and ends of demonstrated actions are reproduced with fairly high rates of fidelity, and laboratory great apes' failure to do so, has frequently been interpreted as reflecting an emergent understanding of intentionality in the former. Although this epigenetic model of the effects of enculturation on social cognitive systems may be well-founded and theoretically justified in the biological literature, alternative models stressing behavioral as opposed to representational change have been largely overlooked. Here I review some of the controversy surrounding enculturation in great apes, and present an alternative nonmentalistic version of the enculturation hypothesis that can also account for enhanced imitative performance on object-oriented problem-solving tasks in human-reared animals. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. jbering@uark.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15004739 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2543 |
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