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Public information use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens)

Vale, G.L.; Flynn, E.G.; Lambeth, S.P.; Schapiro, S.J.; Kendal, R.L.

Public information use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens) Thumbnail


Authors

G.L. Vale

E.G. Flynn

S.P. Lambeth

S.J. Schapiro



Abstract

The discernment of resource quality is pertinent to many daily decisions faced by animals. Public information is a critical information source that promotes quality assessments, attained by monitoring others’ performance. Here we provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) use public information to guide resource selection. Thirty-two chimpanzees were presented with two simultaneous video demonstrations depicting a conspecific acquiring resources at a fast (resource-rich) or slow (resource-poor) rate. Subsequently, subjects selected the resource-rich site above chance expectation. As a comparison, we report evidence of public information use in young children. Investigation of public information use in primates is pertinent as it can enhance foraging success and potentially facilitate payoff biased social learning.

Citation

Vale, G., Flynn, E., Lambeth, S., Schapiro, S., & Kendal, R. (2014). Public information use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 128(2), 215-223. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034420

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date May 31, 2014
Publication Date May 1, 2014
Deposit Date Jul 10, 2013
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Comparative Psychology
Print ISSN 0735-7036
Electronic ISSN 1939-2087
Publisher American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 128
Issue 2
Pages 215-223
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034420
Keywords Public information, Social cognition, Social information, Social learning, Chimpanzees, Children.

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Copyright Statement
© 2014 APA, all rights reserved. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.





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