Hopper Lydia M, Price Sara A, Freeman Hani D, Lambeth Susan P, Schapiro Steven J, Kendal Rachel L
Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA.
Anim Cogn. 2014 Jul;17(4):835-47. doi: 10.1007/s10071-013-0715-y. Epub 2013 Dec 10.
Despite the importance of individual problem solvers for group- and individual-level fitness, the correlates of individual problem-solving success are still an open topic of investigation. In addition to demographic factors, such as age or sex, certain personality dimensions have also been revealed as reliable correlates of problem-solving by animals. Such correlates, however, have been little-studied in chimpanzees. To empirically test the influence of age, sex, estrous state, and different personality factors on chimpanzee problem-solving, we individually tested 36 captive chimpanzees with two novel foraging puzzles. We included both female (N=24) and male (N=12) adult chimpanzees (aged 14-47 years) in our sample. We also controlled for the females' estrous state-a potential influence on cognitive reasoning-by testing cycling females both when their sexual swelling was maximally tumescent (associated with the luteinizing hormone surge of a female's estrous cycle) and again when it was detumescent. Although we found no correlation between the chimpanzees' success with either puzzle and their age or sex, the chimpanzees' personality ratings did correlate with responses to the novel foraging puzzles. Specifically, male chimpanzees that were rated highly on the factors Methodical, Openness (to experience), and Dominance spent longer interacting with the puzzles. There was also a positive relationship between the latency of females to begin interacting with the two tasks and their rating on the factor Reactivity/Undependability. No other significant correlations were found, but we report tentative evidence for increased problem-solving success by the females when they had detumescent estrous swellings.
尽管个体问题解决者对于群体和个体层面的适应性很重要，但个体问题解决成功的相关因素仍是一个有待研究的开放话题。除了年龄或性别等人口统计学因素外，某些个性维度也被揭示为动物解决问题的可靠相关因素。然而，这些相关因素在黑猩猩中研究较少。为了实证检验年龄、性别、发情状态和不同个性因素对黑猩猩解决问题的影响，我们用两个新颖的觅食谜题分别测试了36只圈养黑猩猩。我们的样本包括成年雌性（N = 24）和成年雄性（N = 12）黑猩猩（年龄在14 - 47岁之间）。我们还通过在性肿胀最大时（与雌性发情周期的促黄体生成素激增相关）和消肿时分别测试处于发情周期的雌性，控制了雌性的发情状态——这是对认知推理的一个潜在影响因素。尽管我们发现黑猩猩在任何一个谜题上的成功与它们的年龄或性别之间没有相关性，但黑猩猩的个性评分确实与对新颖觅食谜题的反应相关。具体来说，在有条理、开放性（对新体验）和支配性等因素上得分高的雄性黑猩猩与谜题互动的时间更长。雌性开始与两项任务互动的潜伏期与它们在反应性/不可靠性因素上的评分之间也存在正相关。未发现其他显著相关性，但我们报告了初步证据，表明雌性在发情肿胀消肿时解决问题的成功率有所提高。
