Face recognition in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
Primates live in complex social groups that necessitate recognition of the individuals with whom they interact. In humans, faces provide a visual means by which to gain information such as identity, allowing us to distinguish between both familiar and unfamiliar individuals. The current study used a computerized oddity task to investigate whether a New World primate, Cebus apella, can discriminate the faces of In-group and Out-group conspecifics based on identity. The current study, improved on past methodologies, demonstrates that capuchins recognize the faces of both familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics. Once a performance criterion had been reached, subjects successfully transferred to a large number of novel images within the first 100 trials thus ruling out performance based on previous conditioning. Capuchins can be added to a growing list of primates that appear to recognize two-dimensional facial images of conspecifics.
Pokorny
Jennifer J
JJ
Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Reserach Center, Emory University, 954 N. Gatewood Road, Atlanta, GA 30329. jpokorn@emory.edu
de Waal
Frans B M
FB
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D002428:Cebus / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014163:Transfer, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*