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Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) discriminate between knowing and not knowing and collect information as needed before acting.
Anim Cogn. 2004 Oct; 7(4):239-46.AC

Abstract

Humans use memory awareness to determine whether relevant knowledge is available before acting, as when we determine whether we know a phone number before dialing. Such metacognition, or thinking about thinking, can improve selection of appropriate behavior. We investigated whether rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) are capable of a simple form of metacognitive access to the contents of short-term memory. Monkeys chose among four opaque tubes, one of which concealed food. The tube containing the reward varied randomly from trial to trial. On half the trials the monkeys observed the experimenter baiting the tube, whereas on the remaining trials their view of the baiting was blocked. On each trial, monkeys were allowed a single chance to select the tube containing the reward. During the choice period the monkeys had the opportunity to look down the length of each tube, to determine if it contained food. When they knew the location of the reward, most monkeys chose without looking. In contrast, when ignorant, monkeys often made the effort required to look, thereby learning the location of the reward before choosing. Looking improved accuracy on trials on which monkeys had not observed the baiting. The difference in looking behavior between trials on which the monkeys knew, and trials on which they were ignorant, suggests that rhesus monkeys discriminate between knowing and not knowing. This result extends similar observations made of children and apes to a species of Old World monkey, suggesting that the underlying cognitive capacities may be widely distributed among primates.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Hampton RR
Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA. robert@ln.nimh.nih.gov.
Zivin A
No affiliation info available
Murray EA
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AnimalsAssociation LearningAwarenessChoice BehaviorConcept FormationDiscrimination LearningFemaleMacaca mulattaMaleMemory, Short-TermObservation

Pub Type(s)

Comparative Study
Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

15105996

Citation

Hampton, Robert R., et al. "Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta) Discriminate Between Knowing and Not Knowing and Collect Information as Needed Before Acting." Animal Cognition, vol. 7, no. 4, 2004, pp. 239-46.
Hampton RR, Zivin A, Murray EA. Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) discriminate between knowing and not knowing and collect information as needed before acting. Anim Cogn. 2004;7(4):239-46.
Hampton, R. R., Zivin, A., & Murray, E. A. (2004). Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) discriminate between knowing and not knowing and collect information as needed before acting. Animal Cognition, 7(4), 239-46.
Hampton RR, Zivin A, Murray EA. Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta) Discriminate Between Knowing and Not Knowing and Collect Information as Needed Before Acting. Anim Cogn. 2004;7(4):239-46. PubMed PMID: 15105996.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) discriminate between knowing and not knowing and collect information as needed before acting. AU - Hampton,Robert R, AU - Zivin,Aaron, AU - Murray,Elisabeth A, Y1 - 2004/04/23/ PY - 2003/10/24/received PY - 2004/03/02/revised PY - 2004/03/07/accepted PY - 2004/4/24/pubmed PY - 2005/1/7/medline PY - 2004/4/24/entrez SP - 239 EP - 46 JF - Animal cognition JO - Anim Cogn VL - 7 IS - 4 N2 - Humans use memory awareness to determine whether relevant knowledge is available before acting, as when we determine whether we know a phone number before dialing. Such metacognition, or thinking about thinking, can improve selection of appropriate behavior. We investigated whether rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) are capable of a simple form of metacognitive access to the contents of short-term memory. Monkeys chose among four opaque tubes, one of which concealed food. The tube containing the reward varied randomly from trial to trial. On half the trials the monkeys observed the experimenter baiting the tube, whereas on the remaining trials their view of the baiting was blocked. On each trial, monkeys were allowed a single chance to select the tube containing the reward. During the choice period the monkeys had the opportunity to look down the length of each tube, to determine if it contained food. When they knew the location of the reward, most monkeys chose without looking. In contrast, when ignorant, monkeys often made the effort required to look, thereby learning the location of the reward before choosing. Looking improved accuracy on trials on which monkeys had not observed the baiting. The difference in looking behavior between trials on which the monkeys knew, and trials on which they were ignorant, suggests that rhesus monkeys discriminate between knowing and not knowing. This result extends similar observations made of children and apes to a species of Old World monkey, suggesting that the underlying cognitive capacities may be widely distributed among primates. SN - 1435-9448 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/15105996/Rhesus_monkeys__Macaca_mulatta__discriminate_between_knowing_and_not_knowing_and_collect_information_as_needed_before_acting_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -