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Hierarchical complexity of combinatorial manipulation in capuchin monkeys ( Cebus apella )
Author(s) -
Westergaard Gregory Charles,
Suomi Stephen J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.1350320303
Subject(s) - nesting (process) , non human , cebidae , communication , biology , psychology , zoology , materials science , political science , law , metallurgy
The purpose of this study was to examine the hierarchical complexity of combinatorial manipulation in capuchin monkeys ( Cebus apella ). Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1 capuchins were presented with an apparatus designed to accommodate the use of probing tools. In Experiment 2 the same capuchins were presented with sets of nesting containers. Five of the ten subjects used probing tools and seven subjects placed objects in the containers. The capuchins' behavior reflected three hierarchically organized combinatorial patterns displayed by chimpanzees and human infants. Although the capuchins sometimes displayed the two more complex patterns (“pot” and “subassembly”), their combinatorial behavior was dominated by the simplest pattern (“pairing”). In this regard capuchins may not attain the same grammar of manipulative action that has been reported for chimpanzees and young human children. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.