Learning from communication versus observation in great apes
Abstract When human infants are intentionally addressed by others, they tend to interpret the information communicated as being relevant to them and worth acquiring. For humans, this attribution of relevance leads to a preference to learn from communication, making it possible to accumulate knowledg...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07053-2 |
| _version_ | 1818491662899347456 |
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| author | Hanna Marno Christoph J. Völter Brandon Tinklenberg Dan Sperber Josep Call |
| author_facet | Hanna Marno Christoph J. Völter Brandon Tinklenberg Dan Sperber Josep Call |
| author_sort | Hanna Marno |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract When human infants are intentionally addressed by others, they tend to interpret the information communicated as being relevant to them and worth acquiring. For humans, this attribution of relevance leads to a preference to learn from communication, making it possible to accumulate knowledge over generations. Great apes are sensitive to communicative cues, but do these cues also activate an expectation of relevance? In an observational learning paradigm, we demonstrated to a sample of nonhuman great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans; N = 24) how to operate on a food dispenser device. When apes had the opportunity to choose between an effective and an ineffective method in the baseline conditions, the majority of them chose the effective method. However, when the ineffective method was demonstrated in a communicative way, they failed to prioritize efficiency, even though they were equally attentive in both conditions. This suggests that the ostensive demonstration elicited an expectation of relevance that modified apes’ interpretation of the situation, potentially leading to a preference to learn from communication, as human children do. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T17:33:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8894f5e898ac4d448e394fd67eb787da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T17:33:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-8894f5e898ac4d448e394fd67eb787da2022-12-22T01:39:35ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-02-011211910.1038/s41598-022-07053-2Learning from communication versus observation in great apesHanna Marno0Christoph J. Völter1Brandon Tinklenberg2Dan Sperber3Josep Call4Department of Cognitive Science, Central European UniversityMesserli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of ViennaDepartment of Philosophy, York UniversityDepartment of Cognitive Science, Central European UniversitySchool of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St AndrewsAbstract When human infants are intentionally addressed by others, they tend to interpret the information communicated as being relevant to them and worth acquiring. For humans, this attribution of relevance leads to a preference to learn from communication, making it possible to accumulate knowledge over generations. Great apes are sensitive to communicative cues, but do these cues also activate an expectation of relevance? In an observational learning paradigm, we demonstrated to a sample of nonhuman great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans; N = 24) how to operate on a food dispenser device. When apes had the opportunity to choose between an effective and an ineffective method in the baseline conditions, the majority of them chose the effective method. However, when the ineffective method was demonstrated in a communicative way, they failed to prioritize efficiency, even though they were equally attentive in both conditions. This suggests that the ostensive demonstration elicited an expectation of relevance that modified apes’ interpretation of the situation, potentially leading to a preference to learn from communication, as human children do.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07053-2 |
| spellingShingle | Hanna Marno Christoph J. Völter Brandon Tinklenberg Dan Sperber Josep Call Learning from communication versus observation in great apes Scientific Reports |
| title | Learning from communication versus observation in great apes |
| title_full | Learning from communication versus observation in great apes |
| title_fullStr | Learning from communication versus observation in great apes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Learning from communication versus observation in great apes |
| title_short | Learning from communication versus observation in great apes |
| title_sort | learning from communication versus observation in great apes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07053-2 |
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