When In Doubt, Chimpanzees Rely On Estimates Of Past Reward Amounts

Main Category: Veterinary
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 17 Sep 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Chimpanzees repeatedly chose the larger of two known sets of food items. Then, they only saw one of the two choice quantities, and they had to decide whether to take that known quantity or instead choose an unknown quantity that might be larger or smaller than the known quantity.

The chimpanzees' choice of the unknown set varied with the average rate of return from their responses on earlier trials when both sets were known.

Therefore, chimpanzees' decisions in the face of uncertainty were guided by information gathered across earlier trials, indicating that chimpanzees spontaneously tracked their own performance levels.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

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