Tool use as a way to assess cognition: how do captive chimpanzees handle the weight of the hammer when cracking a nut?
Tool use as a way to assess cognition: how do captive chimpanzees handle the weight of the hammer when cracking a nut?
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DOI：
10.1007/s10071-008-0184-x
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发表时间：
2009-03-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Hirata, Satoshi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bril, Blandine;Dietrich, Gilles;Hirata, Satoshi
猿类的工具使用被认为是认知的里程碑。然而，虽然大多数研究集中在心理操作上，但很少有研究猿类的认知表现在手工技能上。本文提出了理论和方法论的考虑，运动分析作为一种评估灵长类动物的认知。我们认为，一个特权的方式来评估的特点，参与工具使用的认知能力在于在功能水平。这意味着我们关注行动如何进行，更准确地说，关注任务的功能特征是如何产生的。为了支持我们的观点，我们提出了一个实验的结果与五个圈养的黑猩猩调查黑猩猩如何适应不同重量的锤子，而破碎坚果。在锤击任务中执行的运动是根据能量产生来分析的。结果表明，黑猩猩动员被动和主动的力量来执行顺应运动，也就是说，他们调制的手臂/工具系统的动力学。黑猩猩之间的比较表明，经验有助于这种技能。结果表明，在工具的使用中，动作本身并不是关键，而只是因为它们表达了潜在的认知过程。
Tool use in apes has been considered a landmark in cognition. However, while most studies concentrate on mental operations, there are very few studies of apes' cognition as expressed in manual skills. This paper proposes theoretical and methodological considerations on movement analysis as a way of assessing primate cognition. We argue that a privileged way of appraising the characteristics of the cognitive abilities involved in tool use lies at the functional level. This implies that we focus on how the action proceeds, and more precisely, on how the functional characteristics of the task are generated. To support our view, we present the results of an experiment with five captive chimpanzees investigating the way how chimpanzees adapt to hammers of various weights while cracking nuts. The movement performed in the hammering task is analyzed in terms of energy production. Results show that chimpanzees mobilise passive as well as active forces to perform the compliant movement, that is, they modulate the dynamics of the arm/tool system. A comparison between chimpanzees suggests that experience contributes to this skill. The results suggest that in tool use, movements are not key per se, but only in as much as they express underlying cognitive processes.