Self‐control in crows, parrots and nonhuman primates

Miller, Rachael; Boeckle, Markus; Jelbert, Sarah A.; Frohnwieser, Anna; Wascher, Claudia A. F.; Clayton, Nicola S.

doi:10.1002/wcs.1504

Cited by 45 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 117 publications

(171 reference statements)

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“…The ability to forgo an immediate reward for a delayed one has been found in various nonhuman animals, including primates and birds-see [17] for a recent review of self-control in crows, parrots and non-human primates-though has primarily been tested in non-tool-using contexts. To date, no clear comparisons can be drawn between the self-control abilities of toolusing and non-tool-using species, also based on the fact that different methodologies have been used for different species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

et al. 2020

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The ability to make profitable decisions in natural foraging contexts may be influenced by an additional requirement of tool-use, due to increased levels of relational complexity and additional work-effort imposed by tool-use, compared with simply choosing between an immediate and delayed food item. We examined the flexibility for making the most profitable decisions in a multi-dimensional tool-use task, involving different apparatuses, tools and rewards of varying quality, in 3-5-year-old children, adult humans and tool-making New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides). We also compared our results to previous studies on habitually tool-making orangutans (Pongo abelii) and non-tool-making Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). Adult humans, cockatoos and crows, but not children and orangutans, did not select a tool when it was not necessary, which was the more profitable choice in this situation. Adult humans, orangutans and cockatoos, but not crows and children, were able to refrain from selecting non-functional tools. By contrast, the birds, but not the primates tested, struggled to attend to multiple variables-where two apparatuses, two tools and two reward qualities were presented simultaneously-without extended experience. These findings indicate: (1) in a similar manner to humans and orangutans, New Caledonian crows and Goffin's cockatoos can flexibly make profitable decisions in some decision-making tooluse tasks, though the birds may struggle when tasks become more complex; (2) children and orangutans may have a bias to use tools in situations where adults and other tool-making species do not.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

et al. 2020

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“…Intelligent decision-making is also important for other animals in a variety of social and foraging contexts, including inhibiting approaching food or mates in the presence of a competitor, or during tool use. Previous non-human studies have indicated large diversity of responses within the same species, see a recent review of delay of gratification in corvids (members of the crow family), parrots and non-human primates in Miller et al (2019), so self-control does not appear to be shared equally between all species or individuals. In children (Mischel et al 1972(Mischel et al , 1989 and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes: Beran and Hopkins 2018), delay of gratification links to measures of general intelligence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these tasks, subjects are required to choose between two reward options, one available immediately and one following a delay (delay choice tasks) or required to sustain the decision to delay gratification while the immediate reward is present or already possessed during the delay (delay maintenance tasks) (Ainslie 1974;Beran and Evans 2006;Tobin et al 1993Tobin et al , 1996. Subjects may be required to tolerate delays from seconds to minutes (Miller et al 2019). In the exchange paradigm, subjects may be required to swap rewards or tokens with an experimenter or conspecific to acquire the 'better' reward (Beran et al 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delayed gratification in New Caledonian crows and young children: influence of reward type and visibility

et al. 2019

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Self-control underlies cognitive abilities such as decision making and future planning. Delay of gratification is a measure of self-control and involves obtaining a more valuable outcome in the future by tolerating a delay or investing a greater effort in the present. Contextual issues, such as reward visibility and type, may influence delayed gratification performance, although there has been limited comparative investigation between humans and other animals, particularly non-primate species. Here, we adapted an automated 'rotating tray' paradigm used previously with capuchin monkeys to test for delay of gratification ability that requires little pre-test training, where the subject must forgo an immediate, less preferred reward for a delayed, more preferred one. We tested New Caledonian crows and 3-5-year-old human children. We manipulated reward types to differ in quality or quantity (Experiments 1 and 2) as well as visibility (Experiment 2). In Experiments 1 and 2, both species performed better when the rewards varied in quality as opposed to quantity, though performed above chance in both conditions. In Experiment 1, both crows and children were able to delay gratification when both rewards were visible. In Experiment 2, 5-year-old children outperformed 3-and 4-year olds, though overall children still performed well, while the crows struggled when reward visibility was manipulated, a result which may relate to difficulties in tracking the experimenters' hands during baiting. We discuss these findings in relation to the role of contextual issues on self-control when making species comparisons and investigating the mechanisms of self-control.

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“…Moreover, high childhood self-control has been suggested to predict positive outcomes later in life, e.g. in the context of social and academic competence [12], resilience [13], mental health [14], and physical health, financial wealth, and criminal activity [15]. A recent replication of the famous marshmallow test, however, challenged the direct link between delay of gratification performance as a child and achievements later in life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delay of gratification in non-human animals: A review of inter-specific variation in performance

Susini

Safryghin

Hillemann

et al. 2020

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The ability to regulate and withhold an immediate behaviour in pursuit of a more advantageous or valuable, albeit delayed, outcome is generally termed ‘self-control’ and is regarded an important cognitive ability enabling adaptive decision-making in both social and asocial contexts. Abilities to cope with a delay in gratification have been investigated in a range of species using a variety of experimental paradigms. The present study attempts a first systematic analysis of available experimental data from non-human animals, to evaluate the effects of experimental design and taxonomic group on performance in delay of gratification tasks. Data were sourced from 52 separate studies and a comprehensive overview of available literature on delay of gratification in non-human animals is presented, identifying a significant lack of socio-ecological diversity across investigated taxa. Both mean percentage of successful waiting trials and maximum endured delay were found to be significantly affected by experimental design, and both measures of waiting performance were independent of taxonomic order. An analysis of data from 25 studies, for which additional individual-level waiting performances were available, identified substantial intra-specific variation in performance. Overall, cross-species comparisons of delay of gratification abilities are hindered by a lack of consistency in experimental designs, and inferences about evolutionary origins of such capacities are unsuitable at present due to the low number of species tested across different orders. Future research on a larger pool of taxa belonging to separate taxonomic groups is encouraged. Research on social and ecological factors causing intra-specific, individual variation in performance should also be considered.

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Self‐control in crows, parrots and nonhuman primates

Cited by 45 publications

References 117 publications

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

Delayed gratification in New Caledonian crows and young children: influence of reward type and visibility

Delay of gratification in non-human animals: A review of inter-specific variation in performance

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