Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward?
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 mac...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0088595&type=printable |
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| author | Brian J Edwards Benjamin M Rottman Maya Shankar Riana Betzler Vladimir Chituc Ricardo Rodriguez Liara Silva Leah Wibecan Jane Widness Laurie R Santos |
| author_facet | Brian J Edwards Benjamin M Rottman Maya Shankar Riana Betzler Vladimir Chituc Ricardo Rodriguez Liara Silva Leah Wibecan Jane Widness Laurie R Santos |
| author_sort | Brian J Edwards |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 activated, but did not receive a food reward. In these experiments, monkeys failed to test novel objects in the absence of an immediate food reward, even when doing so could provide critical information about how to obtain a reward in future test trials in which the food reward delivery device was reattached. The present studies suggest that the gap between human and animal causal cognition may be in part a gap of motivation. Specifically, we propose that monkey causal learning is motivated by the desire to obtain a direct reward, and that unlike humans, monkeys do not engage in learning for learning's sake. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fac53326f162456fbaa8aada35a5f303 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-fac53326f162456fbaa8aada35a5f3032025-08-20T02:15:20ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0192e8859510.1371/journal.pone.0088595Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward?Brian J EdwardsBenjamin M RottmanMaya ShankarRiana BetzlerVladimir ChitucRicardo RodriguezLiara SilvaLeah WibecanJane WidnessLaurie R SantosWe 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 activated, but did not receive a food reward. In these experiments, monkeys failed to test novel objects in the absence of an immediate food reward, even when doing so could provide critical information about how to obtain a reward in future test trials in which the food reward delivery device was reattached. The present studies suggest that the gap between human and animal causal cognition may be in part a gap of motivation. Specifically, we propose that monkey causal learning is motivated by the desire to obtain a direct reward, and that unlike humans, monkeys do not engage in learning for learning's sake.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0088595&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Brian J Edwards Benjamin M Rottman Maya Shankar Riana Betzler Vladimir Chituc Ricardo Rodriguez Liara Silva Leah Wibecan Jane Widness Laurie R Santos Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward? PLoS ONE |
| title | Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward? |
| title_full | Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward? |
| title_fullStr | Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward? |
| title_short | Do capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward? |
| title_sort | do capuchin monkeys cebus apella diagnose causal relations in the absence of a direct reward |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0088595&type=printable |
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