Do rhesus monkeys recognize themselves in mirrors?

Self‐recognition continues to attract attention because of the evidence of a striking difference between the great apes and humans, on the one hand, and all other primates; the former are capable of self‐recognition, whereas no compelling evidence exists for prosimians, monkeys, or lesser apes. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of primatology 2011-07, Vol.73 (7), p.603-606
Main Authors: Anderson, James R., Gallup Jr, Gordon G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Critical theory
Evidence
great apes
Macaca mulatta - physiology
Macaca mulatta - psychology
Male
mirror
monkeys
Old World monkeys
Primates
Recognition (Psychology)
rhesus
Self Concept
self-recognition
Visual Perception
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Summary:Self‐recognition continues to attract attention because of the evidence of a striking difference between the great apes and humans, on the one hand, and all other primates; the former are capable of self‐recognition, whereas no compelling evidence exists for prosimians, monkeys, or lesser apes. This is in spite of numerous attempts to facilitate mirror self‐recognition in other primates. Although all previous attempts to find self‐recognition in rhesus macaques have failed, a recent article [Rajala et al., PLoS One 9:e12865, 2010] claimed the opposite—that adult male rhesus monkeys did recognize their own image in a mirror. We critically examine this claim, and conclude that the article fails to provide acceptable evidence for self‐recognition in rhesus monkeys. Am. J. Primatol. 73:603–606, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0275-2565
1098-2345
DOI:10.1002/ajp.20950