Experimental analyses on cultural behaviors in a troop of Japanese monkeys: acquisition and transmission of token-use behavior.

第一个实验旨在研究日本猴子是否能够获得新的行为，包括在半自然的群体环境下使用令牌来获得一粒大豆。这项研究使用了一群养在畜栏里的日本猴子(犬山的Wakasa组；N=26)，他们有很长的按键获得大豆的经验。捡起散落在情报面板上的一个球，并将其放入面板上的接收托盘中，激活了喂料器以获取一粒大豆。实验者用手持电脑记录了黑板附近猴子的行为，实验者能够说出队伍中所有成员的名字。起初，猴子们适应了高尔夫球，直到它们不再咬球。在六次实验中，没有观察到自发的球滴，即使在实验者作为一个模型向猴子展示如何使用球来获得大豆之后也是如此。然后，实验者教了两只猴子，这两只猴子对面板表现出持续的关注。采用操作条件反射中的逐次逼近方法。最终，一只年轻的雌鸟成功地学会了从远处携带一个球，并将其放入托盘中。观察继续了几次会议，以收集传播给部队其他成员的信息。然而，即使在几个月后，也没有发现模仿者。这些结果表明，模仿在日本猕猴自然群体的文化行为传播中可能不起重要作用。

The first experiment was designed to study if Japanese monkeys were able to acquire new behavior which involved usage of token to obtain a grain of soybean under a semi-natural group setting. A troop of Japanese monkeys kept in a corral(WAKASA group in Inuyama;N=26) who had long experience to press a key to obtain soybean were used for this study. Picking up one of the balls scattered around the intelligence panel and dropping it into the receiving tray on the panel activated the feeder for a grain of soybean. Behaviors of monkeys shown near the panel were recorded in a hand held computer by the experimenter who was able to name all the members of the troop. First monkeys were adapted to golfballs until they ceased biting the balls. No spontaneous drops of the ball was observed for six sessions, even after the experimenter had acted as a model showing monkeys how to use a ball to obtain a soybean. Then, the experimenter teached two monkeys who showed continual attention to the panel. The method of successive approximation in operant conditioning was applied. Eventually a young female succeeded in learning to carry a ball from distant site and drop into the tray. Obsevation continued for several sessions to gather the transmission to other members of the troop. However no imitator was found even in a few months later. These results suggested that imiation might not play important roll in transmission of cultural behaviors in natural troops of Japanese monkeys.