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Mental representation of symbols as revealed by vocabulary errors in two bonobos (Pan paniscus)

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Abstract

Error analysis has been used in humans to detect implicit representations and categories in language use. The present study utilizes the same technique to report on mental representations and categories in symbol use from two bonobos (Pan paniscus). These bonobos have been shown in published reports to comprehend English at the level of a two-and-a-half year old child and to use a keyboard with over 200 visuographic symbols (lexigrams). In this study, vocabulary test errors from over 10 years of data revealed auditory, visual, and spatio-temporal generalizations (errors were more likely items that looked like sounded like, or were frequently associated with the sample item in space or in time), as well as hierarchical and conceptual categorizations. These error data, like those of humans, are a result of spontaneous responding rather than specific training and do not solely depend upon the sample mode (e.g. auditory similarity errors are not universally more frequent with an English sample, nor were visual similarity errors universally more frequent with a photograph sample). However, unlike humans, these bonobos do not make errors based on syntactical confusions (e.g. confusing semantically unrelated nouns), suggesting that they may not separate syntactical and semantic information. These data suggest that apes spontaneously create a complex, hierarchical, web of representations when exposed to a symbol system.

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh without whose determination, strength, and insight into the apes no work on Kanzi and Panbanisha’s abilities would be possible. Also, the author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the staff of the Language Research Center, Atlanta, GA in collecting these data. Thanks to Duane Rumbaugh, Diana Reiss, Patricia Greenfield, David Washburn, and Irene Pepperberg for comments on earlier drafts. This research was supported by NICHD Grant 06016 to E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and the Language Research Center, Atlanta, GA.

The author declares that she has no professional or financial affiliations that may be perceived to have biased this study. All applicable guidelines regarding animal care and use were followed in this experiment.

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  1. Language Research Center, Georgia State University, 3401 Panthersville Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30034, USA

    Heidi Lyn

  2. Sea Mammal Research Unit, Gatty Marine Lab, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB, UK

    Heidi Lyn

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Correspondence to Heidi Lyn.

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Lyn, H. Mental representation of symbols as revealed by vocabulary errors in two bonobos (Pan paniscus). Anim Cogn 10, 461–475 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-007-0086-3

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