Numerical Competence in the Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

众所周知，黑猩猩是人类最亲密的非人类近亲，但它们与人类共享认知能力的惊人程度仍在被发现。博伊森和伯恩森博士正在研究黑猩猩的算术能力。他们对幼小动物的初步研究展示了包括基本的计数和加法在内的数字技能。进一步的研究应该有助于我们理解不同物种之间认知能力的相似和差异，并有助于澄清那些可能支持非人类灵长类数字技能的过程。除了这些对基本科学知识的贡献外，这些研究可能会对儿童的数字能力产生更敏锐的测试和理解，更广泛地说，提供对非语言智力的更好理解。因此，本项目可能对语言障碍或其他发育障碍儿童的认知能力提供见解。数数过程中的运动标记(触摸或指向物品)将被评估其相对于儿童在学习数数的早期阶段的类似行为的功能意义。这项研究将阐明，这些自发出现在一只动物身上的行为是否可以作为一种组织策略，用于跟踪那些已经被清点的项目和那些仍有待清点的项目。另一项研究将探索减法，方法是向动物展示一系列2到6个水果，覆盖它，然后从动物的视野中删除1到4个项目。早期的结果表明，黑猩猩能够通过从0到5的选择中选择正确的阿拉伯数字来指示隐藏水果的剩余部分。成年雌性黑猩猩，之前接受过一系列概念的广泛训练，包括象征性语言系统，将开始用数字进行训练，遵循与对小动物使用的相同程序。同时，将开发一种计算机辅助测试设备，以方便对成年黑猩猩的培训和数据收集。

Chimpanzees are well known to be our closest non-human relatives, but the surprising extent to which they share cognitive abilities with human beings is still being discovered. Drs. Boysen and Berntson are investigating the numerical competence of chimpanzees. Their preliminary research with young animals has demonstrated numerical skills including rudimentary counting and addition. Further studies should contribute to our understanding of the similarities and differences in cognitive capabilities across species and toward clarifying those processes that may support numerical skills in non-human primates. Besides these contributions to basic scientific knowledge, these studies may yield sharper tests for and understanding of numerical competence in children and, more generally, provide a better understanding of non-verbal intelligence. Thus, the present project may provide insights into the cognitive abilities of language- impaired or otherwise developmentally-challenged children. Motor tagging (touching or pointing to items) during counting will be evaluated for its functional significance relative to similar behaviors of children in the early stages of learning to count. This study will clarify whether or not these behaviors, which appeared spontaneously in one animal, serve as an organizing strategy for keeping track of those items that have already been counted and those that remain to be counted. Another study will explore subtraction, by presenting the animals an array of 2 to 6 pieces of fruit, covering it, and then removing 1 to 4 items out of the animal's view. Early results suggest that the chimpanzees are able to indicate the remainder of the hidden fruit by selecting the correct Arabic numeral from among alternatives 0 to 5. An adult female chimpanzee with extensive prior training on a range of concepts, including a symbolic language system, will begin training with numbers, following the same procedures that were used with the young animals. At the same time, a computer- assisted testing apparatus will be developed to facilitate training and data-collection with adult chimpanzees.