NEW STUDY REVEALS THAT CHIMPS CAN REVISE THEIR CHOICES SAME AS HUMANS

Chimpanzees have historically been regarded as intelligent beings, yet the extent of their intelligence remains a subject of study. A recent study published in Science examined whether chimpanzees are capable of metacognition. To ascertain this, the great apes were required to finish a set of five experiments that became progressively more complex, in order to assess whether they could learn from their errors.

Conducted in Uganda's Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the research offered the chimps sensory evidence, which included auditory, visual, and tactile cues. In each of the five experiments, the chimpanzees had the chance to select one of two locations where food was concealed.

In experiments one and two, chimpanzees had to make two choices grounded in strong and weak evidence. Robust evidence comprised firsthand visual and auditory observations (for instance, jostling a box containing wood). Weak evidence included indirect visual cues (such as traces of food outside the box) and auditory signals (like shaking a box with peanuts).

The initial trial revealed that when weak evidence was shown first, chimpanzees opted for it. However, when compelling evidence was shown to them, they changed their decision. In the second, robust evidence was shown initially, and the monkeys selected it, sticking to their choice even after weak evidence was introduced. This implies that after being presented with strong and weak evidence, chimpanzees can adjust their responses in order to achieve greater accuracy.

The third experiment included a new box that had no evidence against either the weak or strong evidence boxes. Subsequently, the researchers took away the boxes containing strong evidence in order to determine whether chimpanzees would opt for weak or no evidence. They selected the weak evidence most frequently (averaging approximately 80% of the time) and were given the treat.

In experiment four, chimpanzees were presented with a choice between two types of weak evidence: one was redundant and familiar to them (auditory shaking), while the other was new (auditory dropping). They demonstrated their ability to distinguish between various kinds of weak evidence by opting for the new evidence more frequently than the redundant one, which they had witnessed failing previously.

The fifth experiment, which was the most intricate and complicated, also proved to be the most enlightening. Strong evidence was presented to the chimpanzees, followed by another clue that represented either a defeater or non-defeater condition. This means the new clue either weakened the original evidence or had no effect. In the defeater condition, they were much more inclined to modify their choice in both visual and auditory tasks, demonstrating that they adapt their decisions when the evidence supporting their original choice is diminished.

The results indicated that chimpanzees are capable of considering evidence and making rational decisions based on their past and present knowledge, as well as revising these decisions. This advancement demonstrates that chimpanzees are rational thinkers and that metacognition is not exclusive to humans. This could allow scientists to examine other primates and identify our common ancestor that had the capacity for rational thought, as well as pinpoint the point at which we diverged.