City Research Online

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that bonobos, along with other great apes, possess certain theory-of-mind (ToM) abilities, such as the ability to attribute states of knowledge and belief to others. Our study is the first to assess ToM abilities in bonobos using scratching behavior, a widely used affective measure in great apes. Subjects watched two videos; one video showed a group member ignorant of a snake threat while the other video showed a group member knowledgeable of a snake threat. The ToM hypothesis predicted greater frequency of scratching in subjects watching the ignorance video compared to subjects watching the knowledge video. Results were consistent with this prediction. All but one subject scratched more while watching the ignorance video, and subjects scratched nearly 4 times more often on average while watching the ignorance video. Small sample size prevents any strong conclusions to be reached; however, the experimental design has the potential to be used to assess the relation between affective states and ToM abilities in great apes and other species of nonhuman animals with ToM abilities in which there are reliable behavioral indexes of affective states.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The article is published Open Access under a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA licence.
Publisher Keywords:	theory-of-mind, affect measure, bonobos, snake-model, scratching, alarm call
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Departments:	School of Health & Medical Sciences School of Health & Medical Sciences > Psychology
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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