Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestrasse 5, 78467, Konstanz, Germany.
Leipzig Research Center for Early Child Development, Leipzig University, Jahnallee 59, 04109, Leipzig, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2023 Aug 14;13(1):13184. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-39214-2.
The readiness to interact with and explore novel stimuli-i.e., curiosity-is the cornerstone of innovation. Great apes show broad and complex innovation repertoires. However, little is known about the factors that affect curiosity in wild apes. To shed light on wild apes' curiosity, we measured the reactions of wild Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) to an experiment apparatus. Overall, individuals were reluctant to touch the apparatus. However, compared to adults, immatures showed higher tendencies to explore (measured through looking durations and the probability of touching the apparatus) and to approach (measured through approach latencies and approach distances) the apparatus but were more likely to show behavioral signs of agitation. The presence of conspecifics who approached the apparatus increased visual exploration and approach tendencies. Prevailing habitat food availability positively affected visual exploration but had a negative effect on approach tendencies. These findings indicate that intrinsic, social, and ecological factors affect reactions to novelty in wild orangutans and suggest that exploration, neophobia and neophilia are independently regulated. Because reactions to novelty can be an essential pathway to innovation, our results suggest that factors acting on different elements of curiosity must be considered to understand the evolution of innovative tendencies.
与新刺激互动和探索的意愿——即好奇心——是创新的基石。大型猿类表现出广泛而复杂的创新行为。然而，对于影响野生猿类好奇心的因素知之甚少。为了深入了解野生猿类的好奇心，我们测量了野生苏门答腊猩猩（Pongo abelii）对实验仪器的反应。总体而言，个体不太愿意触摸仪器。然而，与成体相比，幼体表现出更高的探索倾向（通过观察持续时间和触摸仪器的概率来衡量）和接近倾向（通过接近潜伏期和接近距离来衡量），但更有可能表现出激动的行为迹象。同类接近仪器会增加视觉探索和接近倾向。普遍的栖息地食物供应情况会积极影响视觉探索，但会对接近倾向产生负面影响。这些发现表明，内在的、社会的和生态的因素会影响野生猩猩对新奇事物的反应，并且表明探索、新奇恐惧症和新奇偏好是独立调节的。由于对新奇事物的反应可能是创新的重要途径，因此我们的研究结果表明，必须考虑作用于好奇心不同元素的因素，以了解创新倾向的演变。
