Social learning from video demonstrations in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), children (Homo sapiens), and ravens (Corvus corax)

Social learning;Learning in animals;Primates--Psychology;Cognition in children;Corvus corax--Psychology

Price, Elizabeth E.

University:University of St Andrews

Department:Psychology & Neuroscience (School of)

关键词: Social learning;    Learning in animals;    Primates--Psychology;    Cognition in children;    Corvus corax--Psychology;   

Others  :  https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/3121/ElizabethPrice_PhDThesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

来源: DR-NTU

【 摘 要 】

The capacity for cumulatively complex and constructive technologies is ahallmark of human cognitive ability. Many species use tools, yet the breadth,adaptability, and inventiveness of human tool use distinguishes us. Such complextechnological adaptations require the causal understanding to invent and perfect newtechniques and the ability to copy perceived behaviours. This has led to considerableresearch comparing the social learning abilities of chimpanzees and young children ontool-using tasks, yet experimental studies directly investigating tool modification are rare.The studies outlined in this thesis sought to assess the social learning abilities ofchimpanzees and children by manipulating both the complexity of a tool modificationmethod and the amount of information available in a demonstration. Videodemonstrations of conspecifics were used in lieu of live models, in order to manipulatethe quality and quantity of information directly. Both chimpanzees and children presentedwith complete information about the modification process learned to combine two toolstogether to make a more efficient tool significantly more than those provided with lessinformation. Unlike chimpanzees, children presented with a more perceptually opaquemethod of tool modification (twisting and extending an internal rod) were also able tosocially learn the task, despite the fact that none of the children in the control conditionsuccessfully solved the task. Both children and chimpanzees who solved the task afterseeing a demonstration also persisted in using the socially learned method two-weekslater, even when it was no longer necessary. These results identify potent social learningeffects in both chimpanzees and children, however, children proved superior tochimpanzees in observationally learning finer manipulative techniques.This thesis also provides the first analysis of video stimuli in ravens. To assess thefeasibility of the methodology, ravens were first presented with different types of videostimuli, varying in terms of the subject identity. Ravens showed a preference for videofootage of other ravens over different species of birds. In a second study, ravens who sawa conspecific solve a two-step task were more likely to attempt a solution than those whohad not. This represents the first evidence of social learning from a video demonstrationin ravens and further supports the use of this medium to dissect social learningmechanisms in a range of species.