Melis, AP;
Tomasello, M;
(2019)
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) coordinate by communicating in a collaborative problem-solving task.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
, 286
(1901)
, Article 20190408. 10.1098/rspb.2019.0408.
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Abstract
Successful collaboration often relies on individuals' capacity to communicate with each other. Despite extensive research on chimpanzee communication, there is little evidence that chimpanzees are capable, without extensive human training, of regulating collaborative activities via communication. This study investigated whether pairs of chimpanzees were capable of communicating to ensure coordination during collaborative problem-solving. The chimpanzee pairs needed two tools to extract fruits from an apparatus. The communicator in each pair could see the location of the tools (hidden in one of two boxes), whereas only the recipient could open the boxes. The subjects were first successfully tested for their capacity to understand the pointing gestures of a human who indicated the location of the tools. In a subsequent conspecifics test, the communicator increasingly communicated the tools’ location, by approaching the baited box and giving the key needed to open it to the recipients. The recipient used these signals and obtained the tools, transferring one of the tools to the communicator so that the pair could collaborate in obtaining the fruits. The study suggests that chimpanzees have the necessary socio-cognitive skills to naturally develop a simple communicative strategy to ensure coordination in a collaborative task.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) coordinate by communicating in a collaborative problem-solving task |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2019.0408 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0408 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | collaboration, chimpanzees, coordination, communication |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10092970 |
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