Environment, methodology, and the object choice task in apes: Evidence for declarative comprehension and implications for the evolution of language

Lyn, Heidi

doi:10.1556/jep.8.2010.4.3

Cited by 31 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…It is possible that with an increased sample of language-using apes, this difference would be significant. These results and the differences noted above are consistent with our previous findings that rearing and living environment greatly affect the cognitive and communicative capacities of apes (Lyn 2010; Lyn et al 2010; Russell et al 2011; Leavens and Bard 2011; Leavens et al 2010b). However, in the current study, the species variable is confounded with rearing differences, so further research is required to distinguish the cause of these differences.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The bonobos also had pre-experimental communicative interactions about items that were not just out of sight, but had happened in the past, or were planned for the future (Lyn et al 2011; Brakke and Savage-Rumbaugh 1996; Savage-Rumbaugh et al 1986). Although several studies have shown that apes reared in a socio-linguistic environment have a better understanding of communicative points by their caregivers (see Lyn 2010; Lyn et al 2010; Russell et al 2011), we do not have any evidence that this impacted performance in this displacement task.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 70%

“…In all of these cases, apes refer to items that are out of view. In many cases, comprehension and use of displacement is both referential and flexible (Lyn 2012; Lyn et al 2011; Lyn et al 2010; Lyn 2010). For example, Lyn et al (2011) detailed many instances of declarative utterances in chimpanzees and bonobo for items that were out of view, as well as events that happened in the past or were planned for the future.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Apes communicate about absent and displaced objects: methodology matters

Lyn¹,

Russell²,

Leavens³

et al. 2013

Anim Cogn

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Displaced reference is the ability to refer to an item that has been moved (displaced) in space and/or time, and has been called one of the true hallmarks of referential communication. Several studies suggest that nonhuman primates have this capability, but a recent experiment concluded that in a specific situation (absent entities) human infants display displaced reference but chimpanzees do not. Here we show that chimpanzees and bonobos of diverse rearing histories are capable of displaced reference to absent and displaced objects. It is likely that some of the conflicting findings from animal cognition studies are due to relatively minor methodological differences, but are compounded by interpretation errors. Comparative studies are of great importance in elucidating the evolution of human cognition, however, greater care must be taken with methodology and interpretation for these studies to accurately reflect species differences.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 70%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Apes communicate about absent and displaced objects: methodology matters

Lyn¹,

Russell²,

Leavens³

et al. 2013

Anim Cogn

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show abstract

“…The bonobos also had pre-experimental communicative interactions about items that were not just out of sight, but had happened in the past, or were planned for the future Brakke and Savage-Rumbaugh 1996;Savage-Rumbaugh et al 1986). Although several studies have shown that apes reared in a socio-linguistic environment have a better understanding of communicative points by their caregivers (see Lyn 2010;Lyn et al 2010;Russell et al 2011), we do not have any evidence that this impacted performance in this displacement task.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 74%

Apes Communicate about Absent and Displaced Objects: Methodology Matters

Lyn¹,

Russell²,

Leavens³

et al. 2011

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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Displaced reference is the ability to refer to an item that has been moved (displaced) in space and/ or time, and has been called one of the true hallmarks of referential communication. Several studies suggest that nonhuman primates have this capability, but a recent experiment concluded that in a specific situation (absent entities) human infants display displaced reference but chimpanzees do not. Here we show that chimpanzees and bonobos of diverse rearing histories are capable of displaced reference to absent and displaced objects. It is likely that some of the conflicting findings from animal cognition studies are due to relatively minor methodological differences, but are compounded by interpretation errors. Comparative studies are of great importance in elucidating the evolution of human cognition, however, greater care must be taken with methodology and interpretation for these studies to accurately reflect species differences.

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“…For many years it was thought that apes systematically failed at the object choice task [Povinelli et al, 1990; Call et al, 1998]. A re-evaluation of the evidence in two recent reviews suggests, however, that a cue that is presented centrally can distract subjects and indeed the proportion of positive findings in experiments with peripheral cues is higher [Lyn, 2010; Mulcahy & Hedge, 2012]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using cross correlations to investigate how chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) use conspecific gaze cues to extract and exploit information in a foraging competition

Hall

Oram

Campbell

et al. 2014

American J Primatol

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In a dyadic informed forager task, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are known to exploit the knowledge of informed subordinates; however, the behavioral mechanisms they employ are unknown. It is tempting to interpret outcome measures, such as which individual obtained the food, in a cognitively richer way than the outcomes may justify. We employed a different approach from prior research, asking how chimpanzees compete by maneuvering around each other, whether they use gaze cues to acquire information from others, and what information they use in moment-to-moment decision-making. We used cross correlations, which plot the correlation between two variables as a function of time, systematically to examine chimpanzee interactions in a series of dyadic informed forager contests. We used cross correlations as a “proof of concept” so as to determine whether the target actions were contingent on, or occurred in a time-locked pattern relative to, the referent actions. A subordinate individual was given privileged knowledge of food location. As expected, an ignorant dominant followed the informed subordinate’s movement in the enclosure. The dominant also followed the subordinate’s gaze direction: after she looked at the subordinate, she was more likely to gaze towards this same direction within one second. In contrast, the subordinate only occasionally followed the dominant’s movement and gaze. The dominant also changed her own direction of movement to converge on the location to which the subordinate directed her gaze and movement. Cross correlation proves an effective technique for charting contingencies in social interactions, an important step in understanding the use of cognition in natural situations.

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Environment, methodology, and the object choice task in apes: Evidence for declarative comprehension and implications for the evolution of language

Cited by 31 publications

References 32 publications

Apes communicate about absent and displaced objects: methodology matters

Apes communicate about absent and displaced objects: methodology matters

Apes Communicate about Absent and Displaced Objects: Methodology Matters

Using cross correlations to investigate how chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) use conspecific gaze cues to extract and exploit information in a foraging competition

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