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Recognition of pictorial representations by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

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Abstract

In this study, I investigated chimpanzees’ ability to recognize pictorial representations. Four adults and three juvenile chimpanzees were trained to choose images of photographs of flowers among 12 items belonging to four categories on a touch-sensitive monitor. As a generalization test, the following five types of images were presented: (1) novel photographs, (2) colored sketches (more realistic), (3) a colored clip art (cartoon-like images), (4) black-and-white line drawings, and (5) Kanji characters (as the control images). One adult and all three juvenile chimpanzees were able to choose any style of the nonphotographic images of flowers significantly above the chance level, whereas none could choose the correct Kanji characters corresponding to a flower significantly above the chance level. The other three adult chimpanzees’ performance level did not exceed the chance level in terms of choosing nonphotographic images although they showed good transfer skills to novel photographs. The results revealed that not all chimpanzees could recognize pictures used by humans without training. The results also suggest “critical period” in acquisition of skill in recognizing pictures in chimpanzees. Only one adult chimpanzee, who had acquired skill in recognizing visual symbols, also recognized pictures aside from the juvenile chimpanzees. Her learning history might have aided her in acquiring this skill. The results of this study suggest a relationship between pictorial competence and symbolic one.

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Notes

  1. Calculation of chance level in test trials. There are 220 ways in which the subject chose three items among the 12 different presented items (i.e., 12C3=220). Among the combination of the chosen items, there is one combination wherein all three items are flowers. In this case, the subject chose three correct images in total (1×3). There are 27 ways in which the subject chose two flowers and one item from the other three categories (i.e., 3C2×9C1). In these cases, the subject chose 54 correct images in total (27×2). There are 108 ways in which the subject chose one flower and two from the other categories (i.e., 3C1×9C2). In these cases, the subject chose 108 correct images in total (108×1). If the subject randomly chooses three items among the presented items in 220 trials, the subject will choose a total of 165 correct images. In the same way, the number of images chosen from the other three categories will be calculated as follows: tree: 165, grass: 165, and others: 165. Thus, the calculated chance level was 25%.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the MEXT Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Nos. 12002009, 15730334, 16002001, and by JSPS (21 COE program for biological diversity A14, and 21 COE program for psychological studies D10). I wish to thank Dr. D. Biro for her reading and comments on the early draft of this manuscript, Mr. S. Nagumo for his technical help in programming and interfacing, and the laboratory staff members for their assistance. We also thank the staff members of the Center for Human Evolution Modeling Research, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University for the management of the subjects’ health.

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  1. Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan

    Masayuki Tanaka

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  1. Masayuki Tanaka
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Correspondence to Masayuki Tanaka.

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Tanaka, M. Recognition of pictorial representations by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Anim Cogn 10, 169–179 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-006-0056-1

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