Robust retention and transfer of tool construction techniques in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Vale, G.; Flynn, E.; Pender, L.; Price, E.; Whiten, A.; Lambeth, P.; Schapiro, S.; Kendal, R.

doi:10.1037/a0040000

Robust retention and transfer of tool construction techniques in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Vale, G.; Flynn, E.; Pender, L.; Price, E.; Whiten, A.; Lambeth, P.; Schapiro, S.; Kendal, R.

Authors

G. Vale

E. Flynn

L. Pender

E. Price

A. Whiten

P. Lambeth

S. Schapiro

Professor Rachel Kendal rachel.kendal@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Long-term memory can be critical to a species’ survival in environments with seasonal and even longer-term cycles of resource availability. The present, longitudinal study investigated whether complex tool behaviors used to gain an out-of-reach reward, following a hiatus of about 3 years and 7 months since initial experiences with a tool use task, were retained and subsequently executed more quickly by experienced than by naïve chimpanzees. Ten of the 11 retested chimpanzees displayed impressive long-term procedural memory, creating elongated tools using the same methods employed years previously, either combining 2 tools or extending a single tool. The complex tool behaviors were also transferred to a different task context, showing behavioral flexibility. This represents some of the first evidence for appreciable long-term procedural memory, and improvements in the utility of complex tool manufacture in chimpanzees. Such long-term procedural memory and behavioral flexibility have important implications for the longevity and transmission of behavioral traditions.

Citation

Vale, G., Flynn, E., Pender, L., Price, E., Whiten, A., Lambeth, P., …Kendal, R. (2016). Robust retention and transfer of tool construction techniques in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 130(1), 24-35. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040000

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 10, 2015
Online Publication Date	Feb 1, 2016
Publication Date	Feb 10, 2016
Deposit Date	Sep 10, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Sep 11, 2015
Journal	Journal of Comparative Psychology
Print ISSN	0735-7036
Electronic ISSN	1939-2087
Publisher	American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	130
Issue	1
Pages	24-35
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040000