Numerical Competence in the Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

本研究项目是评估数字能力， 非人类灵长类动物的能力。 研究的重点是 青少年和成年黑猩猩获取数字的能力 相关能力，包括计数，数字理解， 数量的符号表示。 博伊森博士和伯特森博士已经记录了 计算的能力，以及操纵 数字符号通过隐式计数策略。 额外 使用分数标记食品部分的研究 而其他的目标将由两只成年的动物来完成。 分数的概念将使用新的对象进行测试， 引入新的馏分。 测试接受数 理解，黑猩猩显示一个阿拉伯数字， 然后必须从集合中构造一个相同数字的数组 的对象。 这是一个高级的计数技能， 试验表明动物研究取得了前所未有的成功。 这项研究大大增加了我们对 非人类灵长类动物的信息处理能力 符号的使用，以及 人类和猿类的表征能力 的 这种能力在一个物种中的展示， 灵长类动物的遗产将为人类的进化 描述了我们早期认知的可能进化 原始人类祖先 这些研究也可能产生重要的 教学和训练策略的获得复杂 数字技能，可应用于各种环境 以及一系列受害人群，包括 学习障碍、自闭症和发育迟缓 孩子

This research project is evaluating the capacity for numerical competence of non-human primates. The research focuses on the ability of adolescent and adult chimpanzees to acquire number- related abilities, including counting, number comprehension, and the symbolic representation of quantities. Drs. Boysen and Berntson already have documented the acquisition of counting by chimpanzees, as well as the ability to manipulate number symbols through implicit counting strategies. Additional studies of the use of fractions for labelling portions of foods and other objects will be completed with two young-adult animals. Fraction concepts will be tested using novel objects and the introduction of a novel fraction. To test receptive number comprehension, the chimpanzees are shown an Arabic numeral and then must construct an array of the same number from a collection of objects. This is a high-level counting skill, and preliminary tests indicate success unprecedented in animal research. This research is adding greatly to our understanding of the information-processing capacities of non-human primates for symbol use, and the similarities and differences in representational abilities between humans and apes. The demonstration of such abilities in a species that shares our primate heritage will make important contributions towards characterizing the possible evolution of cognition in our early hominid ancestry. These studies may also yield significant teaching and training strategies for the acquisition of complex numerical skills, which could be applied in a variety of settings and for a range of compromised human populations, including learning-disabled, autistic, and developmentally-delayed children.