Delay of gratification and delay maintenance by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).
The authors tested the self-control of rhesus macaques by assessing if they could refrain from reaching into a food container to maximize the accumulation of sequentially delivered food items (a delay-maintenance task). Three different versions of the task varied the quantity and quality of available food items. In the first 2 versions, food items accumulated across the length of the trial until a monkey consumed the items. In the 3rd task, a single less-preferred food item preceded a single more-preferred food item. Some monkeys delayed gratification even with relatively long delays between deliveries of items. However, the data suggested that self-control, in the majority of tested individuals, was not significantly different across different task versions and that self-control by macaques was not as prevalent in these tasks as it is in chimpanzees and human children.
Evans
Theodore A
TA
Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA. theodore.evans@gmail.com
Beran
Michael J
MJ
D000818:Animals; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005518:Food Preferences; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012153:Retention, Psychology