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Relative numerosity discrimination by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): evidence for approximate numerical representations

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Abstract

Two adult chimpanzees were trained on a relative “numerosity” discrimination task. In each trial, two arrays containing different numbers of red dots were presented on a CRT monitor. The subjects were required to choose the array containing the larger number of dots. In Experiment 1, using numerosities between 1 and 8, 28 different pairs were presented repeatedly, and accuracy scores were analyzed to explore which cues the chimpanzee subjects utilized to perform the task. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the subjects’ performance was (1) not simply controlled by the “numerical” difference between arrays, but that it was (2) best described by Fechner’s Law–that is accuracy increased linearly with the logarithmic value of the numerical difference between arrays divided by the number in the larger of the two arrays. This relationship was maintained when using much larger numerosities (Experiment 3). In Experiment 2, the chimpanzees were tested on the effects of total area and density by manipulating dot size and presentation area. The results revealed that these factors clearly affected the subjects’ performance but that they could not alone explain the results, suggesting that the chimpanzees did use relative numerosity difference as a discriminative cue.

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Acknowledgments

The present study and the preparation of the manuscript were financially supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (Grant no. 07102010, 12002009, 09207105, 10CE2005, 13610086, 16002001, 16300084), and MEXT Grants-in-Aid for the 21st Century COE Program (A14 and D10). The author wishes to thank Drs. Tetsuro Matsuzawa and Masayuki Tanaka for their valuable comments on this study. Thanks are also due to Sumiharu Nagumo for his technical support, Kiyonori Kumazaki, Norihiko Maeda, and the staff of the Center for Human Evolution Modeling Research of the Primate Research Institute (PRI) for their care of the chimpanzees, Tomoko Imura, Yoshitaka Fukiura, Tomoko Takashima, and the staff of the Language and Intelligence Section of PRI for their support during the experiments. Thanks are also due to Dr. Dora Biro for her critical reading of the earlier version of the manuscript and comments and the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments for improving the manuscript.

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  1. Section of Language and Intelligence, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan

    Masaki Tomonaga

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Tomonaga, M. Relative numerosity discrimination by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): evidence for approximate numerical representations. Anim Cogn 11, 43–57 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-007-0089-0

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