Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Counting in a Computerized Testing Paradigm

Using computer-mediated joystick manipulation, the ability of a common chimpanzee(Pan troglodytes) to select arrays of items equal to a given target number was examined. A random dot condition was included in which all sequence cues were eliminated as a means to reach the target numbers 1 to 4. The participant, Austin, had only the quantity of items already selected as a record of how high the count had progressed. Performance on the random dot trials was found to be significantly above chance and improvement over time was also statistically significant. Results of this experiment provide evidence that Austin behaved with a knowledge that the quantity of items selected was the objective of the task rather than adhering rigidly to any specific pattern of selection. The results indicate that Austin had the ability to discriminate the number of items needed to reach the target number and then select items individually to reach that target quantity

Beyond Speciesism

Current primate research has yielded stunning results that not only threaten our underlying assumptions about the cognitive and communicative abilities of nonhuman primates, but also bring into question what it means to be human. At the forefront of this research, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh recently has achieved a scientific breakthrough of impressive proportions. Her work with Kanzi, a laboratory-reared bonobo, has led to Kanzi\u27s acquisition of linguistic and cognitive skills similar to those of a two and a half year-old human child. Apes, Language, and the Human Mind skillfully combines a fascinating narrative of the Kanzi research with incisive critical analysis of the research\u27s broader linguistic, psychological, and anthropological implications. The first part of the book provides a detailed, personal account of Kanzi\u27s infancy, youth, and upbringing, while the second part addresses the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological issues raised by the Kanzi research. The authors discuss the challenge to the foundations of modern cognitive science presented by the Kanzi research; the methods by which we represent and evaluate the abilities of both primates and humans; and the implications which ape language research has for the study of the evolution of human language. Sure to be controversial, this exciting new volume offers a radical revision of the sciences of language and mind, and will be important reading for all those working in the fields of primatology, anthropology, linguistics, philosophy of mind, and cognitive and developmental psychology.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/asbookchapters/1129/thumbnail.jp

The Use of Emotion Symbols in Language-Using Apes

There has been a long history of scientific disagreement about the ability of nonhumans to feel complex or even simple emotions. One of the stumbling blocks for recognition of emotions has been the inability of animals to communicate about emotions or any internal state. Here we look at the internal state utterances of language competent apes. In particular, four internal state symbols are explored: mad, happy, scared, and hurt. We find that these apes use these words appropriately and that developmentally, their use of internal state words occurs after they begin to use value based words like good and bad. We also find that there is less co-construction of internal state words as opposed to the more culturally changeable value based words

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) counting in a computerized testing paradigm

Using computer-mediated joystick manipulation, the ability of a common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) to select arrays of items equal to a given target number was examined. A random dot condition was included in which all sequence cues were eliminated as a means to reach the target numbers 1 to 4. The participant, Austin, had only the quantity of items already selected as a record of how high the count had progressed. Performance on the random dot trials was found to be significantly above chance and improvement over time was also statistically significant. Results of this experiment provide evidence that Austin behaved with a knowledge that the quantity of items selected was the objective of the task rather than adhering rigidly to any specific pattern of selection. The results indicate that Austin had the ability to discriminate the number of items needed to reach the target number and then select items individually t