Bard K A
Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Child Dev. 1992 Oct;63(5):1186-97.
The goal of this study was to describe the ontogeny of the manipulation of an animate object (i.e., the mother) by young free-ranging orangutans within the context of food sharing. The food-sharing context is an important one in the development of object manipulation skills and social communication. 5 orangutans, ranging in age from 1 month to 5 years, were videotaped with their biological mothers for 18 hours over the course of 9 months. Systematic coding of the videotapes revealed that even young orangutans, 1-6 months old, used intentional (i.e., goal-directed) behaviors. When young orangutans directed behavior toward the mother in addition to the goal object then maternal responses were positive, resulting in the infant obtaining the food. Intentional communication, evident in gestures and consisting of an abbreviated action directed toward the mother, was found in the 3 oldest orangutans (2 1/2, 3 1/2, and 5 years of age). Cognitive competence and behavioral performance are considered from the developmental perspectives of Piaget and prelinguistic communication. The ability to use a communicative gesture as an intermediate means in the coordination of actions on a social agent with actions on an object is evident in young orangutans.
本研究的目的是描述在食物分享情境下，幼年野生猩猩对有生命物体（即母亲）的操控的个体发生过程。食物分享情境在物体操控技能和社会交流的发展中是一个重要情境。5只年龄从1个月到5岁的猩猩与其生母在9个月的时间里被拍摄了18小时的录像。对录像的系统编码显示，即使是1 - 6个月大的幼年猩猩也会使用有意（即目标导向）行为。当幼年猩猩除了目标物体之外还将行为指向母亲时，母亲的反应是积极的，从而使幼崽获得食物。在3只年龄最大的猩猩（2岁半、3岁半和5岁）中发现了有意交流，表现为手势，且是指向母亲的简化动作。从皮亚杰的发展视角和前语言交流的角度来考虑认知能力和行为表现。幼年猩猩明显具备将交际手势作为一种中间手段，用于协调对社会主体的行动和对物体的行动的能力。
