Paukner Annika, Anderson James R, Fujita Kazuo
Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK.
Anim Cogn. 2006 Apr;9(2):110-7. doi: 10.1007/s10071-005-0007-2. Epub 2005 Sep 24.
This study investigated capuchin monkeys' understanding of their own visual search behavior as a means to gather information. Five monkeys were presented with three tubes that could be visually searched to determine the location of a bait. The bait's visibility was experimentally manipulated, and the monkeys' spontaneous visual searches before tube selection were analyzed. In Experiment 1, three monkeys selected the baited tube significantly above chance; however, the monkeys also searched transparent tubes. In Experiment 2, a bent tube in which food was never visible was introduced. When the bent tube was baited, the monkeys failed to deduce the bait location and responded randomly. They also continued to look into the bent tube despite not gaining any pertinent information from it. The capuchin monkeys' behavior contrasts with the efficient employment of visual search behavior reported in humans, apes and macaques. This difference is consistent with species-related variations in metacognitive abilities, although other explanations are also possible.
本研究调查了卷尾猴对自身视觉搜索行为作为一种获取信息手段的理解。给五只猴子呈现三根管子，它们可以通过视觉搜索来确定诱饵的位置。诱饵的可见性通过实验进行操控，并对猴子在选择管子之前的自发视觉搜索进行了分析。在实验1中，三只猴子选择有诱饵的管子的概率显著高于随机水平；然而，猴子们也会搜索透明管子。在实验2中，引入了一根弯曲的管子，在其中食物永远不可见。当弯曲的管子中有诱饵时，猴子们无法推断出诱饵的位置，而是随机做出反应。尽管从弯曲的管子中没有获得任何相关信息，它们仍然继续看向该管子。卷尾猴的行为与人类、猿类和猕猴中所报道的有效运用视觉搜索行为形成对比。这种差异与元认知能力的物种相关差异一致，尽管也可能有其他解释。
