Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).

<h4>Background</h4>Can non-human animals comprehend and employ symbols? The most convincing empirical evidence comes from language-trained apes, but little is known about this ability in monkeys. Tokens can be regarded as symbols since they are inherently non-valuable objects that acquir...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Elsa Addessi, Alessandra Mancini, Lara Crescimbene, Camillo Padoa-Schioppa, Elisabetta Visalberghi
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2008
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/0ccef9b22a124e1b9d7f32208e0af4cb
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:0ccef9b22a124e1b9d7f32208e0af4cb
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:0ccef9b22a124e1b9d7f32208e0af4cb2021-11-25T06:12:06ZPreference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0002414https://doaj.org/article/0ccef9b22a124e1b9d7f32208e0af4cb2008-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18545670/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>Can non-human animals comprehend and employ symbols? The most convincing empirical evidence comes from language-trained apes, but little is known about this ability in monkeys. Tokens can be regarded as symbols since they are inherently non-valuable objects that acquire an arbitrarily assigned value upon exchange with an experimenter. Recent evidence suggested that capuchin monkeys, which diverged from the human lineage 35 million years ago, can estimate, represent and combine token quantities. A fundamental and open question is whether monkeys can reason about symbols in ways similar to how they reason about real objects.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Here we examined this broad question in the context of economic choice behavior. Specifically, we assessed whether, in a symbolic context, capuchins' preferences satisfy transitivity--a fundamental trait of rational decision-making. Given three options A, B and C, transitivity holds true if A > or = B, B > or = C and A > or = C (where > or = indicates preference). In this study, we trained monkeys to exchange three types of tokens for three different foods. We then compared choices monkeys made between different types of tokens with choices monkeys made between the foods. Qualitatively, capuchins' preferences revealed by the way of tokens were similar to those measured with the actual foods. In particular, when choosing between tokens, monkeys displayed strict economic preferences and their choices satisfied transitivity. Quantitatively, however, values measured by the way of tokens differed systematically from those measured with the actual foods. In particular, for any pair of foods, the relative value of the preferred food increased when monkeys chose between the corresponding tokens.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>These results indicate that indeed capuchins are capable of treating tokens as symbols. However, as they do so, capuchins experience the cognitive burdens imposed by symbolic representation.Elsa AddessiAlessandra ManciniLara CrescimbeneCamillo Padoa-SchioppaElisabetta VisalberghiPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 3, Iss 6, p e2414 (2008)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Elsa Addessi Alessandra Mancini Lara Crescimbene Camillo Padoa-Schioppa Elisabetta Visalberghi Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
description	<h4>Background</h4>Can non-human animals comprehend and employ symbols? The most convincing empirical evidence comes from language-trained apes, but little is known about this ability in monkeys. Tokens can be regarded as symbols since they are inherently non-valuable objects that acquire an arbitrarily assigned value upon exchange with an experimenter. Recent evidence suggested that capuchin monkeys, which diverged from the human lineage 35 million years ago, can estimate, represent and combine token quantities. A fundamental and open question is whether monkeys can reason about symbols in ways similar to how they reason about real objects.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Here we examined this broad question in the context of economic choice behavior. Specifically, we assessed whether, in a symbolic context, capuchins' preferences satisfy transitivity--a fundamental trait of rational decision-making. Given three options A, B and C, transitivity holds true if A > or = B, B > or = C and A > or = C (where > or = indicates preference). In this study, we trained monkeys to exchange three types of tokens for three different foods. We then compared choices monkeys made between different types of tokens with choices monkeys made between the foods. Qualitatively, capuchins' preferences revealed by the way of tokens were similar to those measured with the actual foods. In particular, when choosing between tokens, monkeys displayed strict economic preferences and their choices satisfied transitivity. Quantitatively, however, values measured by the way of tokens differed systematically from those measured with the actual foods. In particular, for any pair of foods, the relative value of the preferred food increased when monkeys chose between the corresponding tokens.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>These results indicate that indeed capuchins are capable of treating tokens as symbols. However, as they do so, capuchins experience the cognitive burdens imposed by symbolic representation.
format	article
author	Elsa Addessi Alessandra Mancini Lara Crescimbene Camillo Padoa-Schioppa Elisabetta Visalberghi
author_facet	Elsa Addessi Alessandra Mancini Lara Crescimbene Camillo Padoa-Schioppa Elisabetta Visalberghi
author_sort	Elsa Addessi
title	Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
title_short	Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
title_full	Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
title_fullStr	Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
title_full_unstemmed	Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
title_sort	preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (cebus apella).
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2008
url	https://doaj.org/article/0ccef9b22a124e1b9d7f32208e0af4cb
work_keys_str_mv	AT elsaaddessi preferencetransitivityandsymbolicrepresentationincapuchinmonkeyscebusapella AT alessandramancini preferencetransitivityandsymbolicrepresentationincapuchinmonkeyscebusapella AT laracrescimbene preferencetransitivityandsymbolicrepresentationincapuchinmonkeyscebusapella AT camillopadoaschioppa preferencetransitivityandsymbolicrepresentationincapuchinmonkeyscebusapella AT elisabettavisalberghi preferencetransitivityandsymbolicrepresentationincapuchinmonkeyscebusapella
_version_	1718414024796798976

Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).

Ejemplares similares