Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) conceal visual and auditory information from others
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2006 |
Authors: |
Alicia P. Melis, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello |
Publication/Journal: |
Journal of Comparative Psychology |
Keywords: |
auditory perception, competition, concealment, deception, pan troglodytes, visual perspective |
ISBN: |
1939-2087 0735-7036 |
Abstract:
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) competed with a human for food. The human sat inside a booth, with 1
piece of food to her left and 1 to her right, which she could retract from her chimpanzee competitor’s
reach as needed. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees could approach either side of the booth unseen but then
had to reach through 1 of 2 tunnels (1 clear, 1 opaque) for the food. In Experiment 2, both tunnels were
clear and the human was looking away, but 1 of the tunnels made a loud noise when it was opened.
Chimpanzees preferentially reached through the opaque tunnel in the first study and the silent tunnel in
the second, successfully concealing their taking of the food from the human competitor in both cases.
These results suggest that chimpanzees can, in some circumstances, actively manipulate the visual and
auditory perception of others by concealing information from them.