Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward?

ABSTRACT: We adapted a method from developmental psychology to explore whether capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) would place objects on a "blicket detector" machine to diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward. Across five experiments, monkeys could place different objects on the machine and obtain evidence about the objects' causal properties based on whether each object "activated" the machine. In Experiments 1-3, monkeys received both audiovisual cues and a food reward whenever the machine activated. In these experiments, monkeys spontaneously placed objects on the machine and succeeded at discriminating various patterns of statistical evidence. In Experiments 4 and 5, we modified the procedure so that in the learning trials, monkeys received the audiovisual cues when the machine

SUBMITTER: Edwards BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3929502 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature