harnad@mind.UUCP (Stevan Harnad) (08/04/88)
Below is the abstract of a forthcoming target article to appear in
Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS), an international journal of "open
peer commentary" in the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences, published
by Cambridge University Press. For information on how to serve as a
commentator or to nominate qualified professionals in these fields as
commentators, please send email to: harnad@mind.princeton.edu
or write to: BBS, 20 Nassau Street, #240, Princeton NJ 08542
[tel: 609-921-7771]
Spontaneous tool use and sensorimotor intelligence in Cebus and other
monkeys and apes
Suzanne Chevalier Skolnikoff
Human Interaction Laboratory
Department of Psychiatry
University of California, San Fransisco
Spontaneous tool use and sensorimotor intelligence in Cebus
were observed to determine whether tool use is discovered
fortuitously and learned by trial and error or, rather, advanced
sensorimotor abilities (experimentation and insight) are critical in
its development and evolution. During 62 hours of observing captive
groups of cebus monkeys (a total of 12 animals), 38 series and 66 acts
of spontaneous tool use were recorded. Nine monkeys (75%) used tools;
14 kinds of tool use were observed. Of seven captive spider monkeys
observed for 21 hours, none used tools. Comparative observations of
sensorimotor intelligence were made using Piaget's model. The
sensorimotor basis of tool use was also analyzed. Cebus showed all six
of Piaget's levels of sensorimotor intelligence, whereas spider
monkeys showed only the first four stages. Besides these correlations
between tool use and advanced sensorimotor ability, 37 of the 38
tool-use series and 65 of the 66 individual acts involved Stage 5 and
6 sensorimotor mechanisms in Cebus; only one series involved Stage 3
fortuitous discovery and Stage 4 coordinations. This study and a
literature survey suggest that high tool-using propensity among
primates is based on advanced sensorimotor ability rather than
fortuitous discovery.
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