title: Natural choice in nonhuman primates.
abstract: In 5 experiments, 4 monkeys and 1 ape chose between 2 food sources, each held in 1 of the experimenter's hands while he stood in front of a cage. When choosing between 2 sources of the same food that differed in amount, preference for the larger amount decreased as the size of each good proportionately increased. A second finding was that subjects were indifferent between a 2-food mixture and a single food that was part of the mixture if the single food was the preferred food of the mixture, a result suggesting the less preferred food had no value. Experiment 6 replicated these effects in 4 additional monkeys. These effects may be incompatible with previous theorizing about animal choice and may reflect a cognitive difference between nonhuman primates and humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, DC 20016-8062, USA. asilber@american.edu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Silberberg
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Widholm
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bresler
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D008251:Macaca / Q000523:psychology*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000523:psychology*; D013045:Species Specificity