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Enculturated chimpanzees imitate rationally

Enculturated chimpanzees imitate rationally Human infants imitate others’ actions ‘rationally’: they copy a demonstrator's action when that action is freely chosen, but less when it is forced by some constraint (). We investigated whether enculturated chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) also imitate rationally. Using ) basic procedure, a human demonstrator operated each of six apparatuses using an unusual body part (he pressed it with his forehead or foot, or sat on it). In the Hands Free condition he used this unusual means even though his hands were free, suggesting a free choice. In the Hands Occupied condition he used the unusual means only because his hands were occupied, suggesting a constrained or forced choice. Like human infants, chimpanzees imitated the modeled action more often in the Hands Free than in the Hands Occupied condition. Enculturated chimpanzees thus have some understanding of the rationality of others’ intentional actions, and use this understanding when imitating others. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Developmental Science Wiley

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References (29)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
1363-755X
eISSN
1467-7687
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00630.x
pmid
17552931
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Human infants imitate others’ actions ‘rationally’: they copy a demonstrator's action when that action is freely chosen, but less when it is forced by some constraint (). We investigated whether enculturated chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) also imitate rationally. Using ) basic procedure, a human demonstrator operated each of six apparatuses using an unusual body part (he pressed it with his forehead or foot, or sat on it). In the Hands Free condition he used this unusual means even though his hands were free, suggesting a free choice. In the Hands Occupied condition he used the unusual means only because his hands were occupied, suggesting a constrained or forced choice. Like human infants, chimpanzees imitated the modeled action more often in the Hands Free than in the Hands Occupied condition. Enculturated chimpanzees thus have some understanding of the rationality of others’ intentional actions, and use this understanding when imitating others.

Journal

Developmental ScienceWiley

Published: Jul 1, 2007

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