Russon A E, Galdikas B M
Department of Psychology, Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Comp Psychol. 1993 Jun;107(2):147-61. doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.107.2.147.
We made an observational study of spontaneous imitation in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Previous studies may have underestimated great apes' imitative capacities by studying subjects under inhibiting conditions. We used subjects living in enriched environments, namely, rehabilitation. We collected a sample of spontaneous imitations and analyzed the most complex incidents for the likelihood that true imitation, learning new actions by observing rather than by doing, was involved in their acquisition. From 395 hr of observation and other reports on 26 orangutans, we identified 354 incidents of imitation. Of these, 54 complex incidents were difficult to explain by forms of imitation based on associative processes grounded in experimental learning alone; they were, however, congruent with acquisition processes that include true imitation. These findings suggest that orangutans may be capable of true imitation and point to critical eliciting factors.
我们对红毛猩猩（Pongo pygmaeus）的自发模仿行为进行了一项观察性研究。以往的研究可能通过在抑制条件下研究对象，低估了类人猿的模仿能力。我们使用生活在丰富环境中的研究对象，即接受康复治疗的红毛猩猩。我们收集了自发模仿行为的样本，并分析了最复杂的事例，以确定在其习得过程中是否涉及真正的模仿，即通过观察而非实践来学习新行为。通过对26只红毛猩猩进行395小时的观察及其他报告，我们识别出354次模仿事件。其中，54次复杂事件难以仅通过基于实验性学习中的联想过程的模仿形式来解释；然而，它们与包括真正模仿在内的习得过程相一致。这些发现表明，红毛猩猩可能具备真正的模仿能力，并指出了关键的诱发因素。
