Abstract
The discernment of resource quality is pertinent to many daily decisions faced by animals. Public information is a critical information source that promotes quality assessments, attained by monitoring others' performance. Here we provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) use public information to guide resource selection. Thirty-two chimpanzees were presented with two simultaneous video demonstrations depicting a conspecific acquiring resources at a fast (resource-rich) or slow (resource-poor) rate. Subsequently, subjects selected the resource-rich site above chance expectation. As a comparison, we report evidence of public information use in young children. Investigation of public information use in primates is pertinent, as it can enhance foraging success and potentially facilitate payoff-biased social learning.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Comparative Psychology |
| Volume | 128 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 215-23 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| ISSN | 0735-7036 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2014 |
Keywords
- Animals
- Behavior, Animal
- Child, Preschool
- Choice Behavior
- Cues
- Female
- Humans
- Male
- Pan troglodytes
- Social Perception