Learning from others' mistakes? limits on understanding a trap-tube task by young chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens).
A trap-tube task was used to determine whether chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens) who observed a model's errors and successes could master the task in fewer trials than those who saw only successes. Two- to 7-year-old chimpanzees and 3- to 4-year-old children did not benefit from observing errors and found the task difficult. Two of the 6 chimpanzees developed a successful anticipatory strategy but showed no evidence of representing the core causal relations involved in trapping. Three- to 4-year-old children showed a similar limitation and tended to copy the actions of the demonstrator, irrespective of their causal relevance. Five- to 6-year-old children were able to master the task but did not appear to be influenced by social learning or benefit from observing errors.
Horner
Victoria
V
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, UK. vhorner@rmy.emory.edu
Whiten
Andrew
A
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001288:Attention; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000523:psychology*; D011340:Problem Solving; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013045:Species Specificity