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Sequential recall of meaningful and arbitrary sequences by orangutans and human children: Does content matter?

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Abstract

Do visual cues such as size, color, and number facilitate sequential recall in orangutans and human children? In Experiment 1, children and adult orangutans solved two types of sequences, arbitrary (unrelated pictures) and meaningful (pictures varied along a spectrum according to the size, color, or number of items shown), in a touchscreen paradigm. It was found that visual cues did not increase the percentage of correct responses for either children or orangutans. In order to demonstrate that the failure to spontaneously seriate along these dimensions was not due to a general inability to perceive the dimensions nor to an inability to seriate items, in Experiment 2, orangutans were trained on one type of sequence and tested on novel sequences organized according to the same rule (i.e., pictures varied on the number spectrum only). The orangutans performed significantly better on novel meaningful sequences in this task than on novel arbitrary sequences. These results indicate that, while orangutans and human children share the ability to learn how to order items according to their size, color, or number, both orangutans and humans lack a cognitive propensity to spontaneously (i.e., without prior training or enculturation) order multiple items by size, color, or number.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Chikako Suda-King and the Zookeepers at Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park for facilitating data collection with the great apes, and the research assistants from GWU who helped carry out data collection with children.

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Author notes

  1. Elizabeth E. Price

    Present address: Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Elizabeth Renner & Francys Subiaul

  2. National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA

    Elizabeth Renner, Elizabeth E. Price & Francys Subiaul

  3. Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Francys Subiaul

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Renner
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  2. Elizabeth E. Price
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth Renner.

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The portion of the research involving human children was approved by the George Washington University Institutional Review Board. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the IRB and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The portion of the research involving orangutans was approved by the George Washington University IACUC and Smithsonian Institution ACUC. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution at which the studies were conducted.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Renner, E., Price, E.E. & Subiaul, F. Sequential recall of meaningful and arbitrary sequences by orangutans and human children: Does content matter?. Anim Cogn 19, 39–52 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0911-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0911-z

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