Journal
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 122, Issue 2, Pages 186-194Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.122.2.186
Keywords
tool use; social learning; nut cracking; chimpanzees
Funding
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [S16447] Funding Source: researchfish
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [S16447] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Nut cracking is restricted to communities of wild chimpanzees living in West Africa, suggesting it is an example of a socially transmitted tradition. Detailed study of the acquisition of nut cracking in wild chimpanzees is consistent with this conclusion. However, only 2, small-scale experiments have been carried out in captivity to explore the role of social transmission in the acquisition of this behavior. The study presented here does this with a comparatively larger, statistically viable sample of 11 sanctuary-living chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), permitting both between- and within-subjects experimental manipulations. Results confirmed that nut cracking can be acquired in a matter of days by social learning, but only in chimpanzees 3 to 4 years old and older. Direct comparisons are made with a study carried out in the wild, revealing striking similarities in developmental profiles.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available