Cognitive Imitation in Rhesus Macaques

Experiments on imitation typically evaluate a student's ability to copy some feature of an expert's motor behavior. Here, we describe a type of observational learning in which a student copies a cognitive rule rather than a specific motor action. Two rhesus macaques were trained to respond...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2004-07, Vol.305 (5682), p.407-410
Main Authors: Subiaul, Francys, Cantlon, Jessica F., Holloway, Ralph L., Terrace, Herbert S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal ethology
Animals
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognitive style
Conceptual frameworks
Definitions
Experimentation
Feedback (Response)
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Imitation
Imitative Behavior
Learning
Learning rate
Macaca mulatta
Macaca mulatta - physiology
Macaca mulatta - psychology
Male
Mammalia
Modeling (Psychology)
Monkeys
Monkeys & apes
Motor ability
Observational Learning
Photography
Psychological aspects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Social facilitation
T tests
Terraces
Vertebrata
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Summary:Experiments on imitation typically evaluate a student's ability to copy some feature of an expert's motor behavior. Here, we describe a type of observational learning in which a student copies a cognitive rule rather than a specific motor action. Two rhesus macaques were trained to respond, in a prescribed order, to different sets of photographs that were displayed on a touch-sensitive monitor. Because the position of the photographs varied randomly from trial to trial, sequences could not be learned by motor imitation. Both monkeys learned new sequences more rapidly after observing an expert execute those sequences than when they had to learn new sequences entirely by trial and error.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1099136