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Reading wild minds: A computational assay of Theory of Mind sophistication across seven primate species.
PLoS Comput Biol. 2017 Nov; 13(11):e1005833.PC

Abstract

Theory of Mind (ToM), i.e. the ability to understand others' mental states, endows humans with highly adaptive social skills such as teaching or deceiving. Candidate evolutionary explanations have been proposed for the unique sophistication of human ToM among primates. For example, the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis states that the increasing complexity of social networks may have induced a demand for sophisticated ToM. This type of scenario ignores neurocognitive constraints that may eventually be crucial limiting factors for ToM evolution. In contradistinction, the cognitive scaffolding hypothesis asserts that a species' opportunity to develop sophisticated ToM is mostly determined by its general cognitive capacity (on which ToM is scaffolded). However, the actual relationships between ToM sophistication and either brain volume (a proxy for general cognitive capacity) or social group size (a proxy for social network complexity) are unclear. Here, we let 39 individuals sampled from seven non-human primate species (lemurs, macaques, mangabeys, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees) engage in simple dyadic games against artificial ToM players (via a familiar human caregiver). Using computational analyses of primates' choice sequences, we found that the probability of exhibiting a ToM-compatible learning style is mainly driven by species' brain volume (rather than by social group size). Moreover, primates' social cognitive sophistication culminates in a precursor form of ToM, which still falls short of human fully-developed ToM abilities.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Devaine M
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Paris, France. INSERM UMR S975, Paris, France.
San-Galli A
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Paris, France. INSERM UMR S975, Paris, France.
Trapanese C
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7206, Paris, France.
Bardino G
Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Paris, France. Universita La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
Hano C
INSERM UMR S975, Paris, France.
Saint Jalme M
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7206, Paris, France. Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes, Paris, France.
Bouret S
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Paris, France. INSERM UMR S975, Paris, France.
Masi S
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7206, Paris, France.
Daunizeau J
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Paris, France. INSERM UMR S975, Paris, France.

MeSH

AnimalsBehavior, AnimalComputational BiologyComputer SimulationGame TheoryPrimatesReadingSocial BehaviorSocial PerceptionSocial SkillsTheory of Mind

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

29112973

Citation

Devaine, Marie, et al. "Reading Wild Minds: a Computational Assay of Theory of Mind Sophistication Across Seven Primate Species." PLoS Computational Biology, vol. 13, no. 11, 2017, pp. e1005833.
Devaine M, San-Galli A, Trapanese C, et al. Reading wild minds: A computational assay of Theory of Mind sophistication across seven primate species. PLoS Comput Biol. 2017;13(11):e1005833.
Devaine, M., San-Galli, A., Trapanese, C., Bardino, G., Hano, C., Saint Jalme, M., Bouret, S., Masi, S., & Daunizeau, J. (2017). Reading wild minds: A computational assay of Theory of Mind sophistication across seven primate species. PLoS Computational Biology, 13(11), e1005833. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005833
Devaine M, et al. Reading Wild Minds: a Computational Assay of Theory of Mind Sophistication Across Seven Primate Species. PLoS Comput Biol. 2017;13(11):e1005833. PubMed PMID: 29112973.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Reading wild minds: A computational assay of Theory of Mind sophistication across seven primate species. AU - Devaine,Marie, AU - San-Galli,Aurore, AU - Trapanese,Cinzia, AU - Bardino,Giulia, AU - Hano,Christelle, AU - Saint Jalme,Michel, AU - Bouret,Sebastien, AU - Masi,Shelly, AU - Daunizeau,Jean, Y1 - 2017/11/07/ PY - 2016/11/23/received PY - 2017/10/19/accepted PY - 2017/11/17/revised PY - 2017/11/8/pubmed PY - 2017/12/19/medline PY - 2017/11/8/entrez SP - e1005833 EP - e1005833 JF - PLoS computational biology JO - PLoS Comput Biol VL - 13 IS - 11 N2 - Theory of Mind (ToM), i.e. the ability to understand others' mental states, endows humans with highly adaptive social skills such as teaching or deceiving. Candidate evolutionary explanations have been proposed for the unique sophistication of human ToM among primates. For example, the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis states that the increasing complexity of social networks may have induced a demand for sophisticated ToM. This type of scenario ignores neurocognitive constraints that may eventually be crucial limiting factors for ToM evolution. In contradistinction, the cognitive scaffolding hypothesis asserts that a species' opportunity to develop sophisticated ToM is mostly determined by its general cognitive capacity (on which ToM is scaffolded). However, the actual relationships between ToM sophistication and either brain volume (a proxy for general cognitive capacity) or social group size (a proxy for social network complexity) are unclear. Here, we let 39 individuals sampled from seven non-human primate species (lemurs, macaques, mangabeys, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees) engage in simple dyadic games against artificial ToM players (via a familiar human caregiver). Using computational analyses of primates' choice sequences, we found that the probability of exhibiting a ToM-compatible learning style is mainly driven by species' brain volume (rather than by social group size). Moreover, primates' social cognitive sophistication culminates in a precursor form of ToM, which still falls short of human fully-developed ToM abilities. SN - 1553-7358 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/29112973/Reading_wild_minds:_A_computational_assay_of_Theory_of_Mind_sophistication_across_seven_primate_species_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -