How do tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) understand causality involved in tool use?

Four tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were trained to choose from 2 hook-like tools, 1 of which successfully led to collecting food, whereas the other did not because of inappropriate spatial arrangement of the tool and the food. In Experiment 1, all of the monkeys successfully learned the bas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Vol. 29; no. 3; p. 233
Main Authors Fujita, Kazuo, Kuroshima, Hika, Asai, Saori
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.07.2003
Subjects
Animals
Appetitive Behavior
Cebus - psychology
Choice Behavior
Concept Formation
Discrimination Learning
Female
Male
Orientation
Problem Solving
Psychomotor Performance
Social Environment
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Summary:Four tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were trained to choose from 2 hook-like tools, 1 of which successfully led to collecting food, whereas the other did not because of inappropriate spatial arrangement of the tool and the food. In Experiment 1, all of the monkeys successfully learned the basic task. The monkeys performed successfully with tools of novel colors and shapes in Experiments 2-5. These results demonstrate that the monkeys used the spatial arrangement of the tool and the food as a cue. However, they failed when there were obstacles (Experiment 6) or traps (Experiment 7) on the path along which the monkeys dragged tools. These results may suggest that capuchin monkeys understand the spatial relationship between 2 items, namely, food and the tool, but do not understand the spatial relationship among 3 items, namely, food, tool, and the environmental condition. The possible role of stimulus generalization is also considered.
ISSN:0097-7403
DOI:10.1037/0097-7403.29.3.233