Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complet... more Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complete and balanced diet for primates. In addition to the nutritional value of a food, its palatability, frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation may also be important for determining whether it is accepted by the animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the food preferences of 26 captive capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) using monkey chow and a variety of foods, which ranged from being very familiar to completely novel to the monkeys, and to assess whether the frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation affected their food preferences. Food preferences were scored in terms of the food item chosen and whether it was then eaten. In Experiment 1, subjects encountered paired combinations of seven familiar foods (present in the monkeys' diet with different frequencies), including monkey chow. In Experiments 2 and 3, monkey chow was paired with seven novel foods (not previously present in the monkeys' diet) and seven ex-novel foods (previously only encountered repeatedly during an earlier experiment) respectively. The results show that monkey chow, despite its high energy content, was not very attractive to capuchin monkeys. Other familiar foods (especially those not presented daily) were chosen and eaten more frequently than the monkey chow, and novel foods were chosen more frequently than the monkey chow. The findings of this study have implications for the feeding husbandry of captive primates. Familiar foods presented in the diet each day are less preferred; therefore good practice would be to alternate foods over time. Occasional presentation of novel food items could be a stimulating and economical method of providing sensory enrichment.
Gettig that thig out of the o: The otriutio of self-regulatio i ioatio proesses i hua hildre Hoo ... more Gettig that thig out of the o: The otriutio of self-regulatio i ioatio proesses i hua hildre Hoo sapies ad a o-hua priate speies "apajus spp. Abstract The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human species. But how does innovation develop in human ontogeny? Which basic skills are needed to act innovatively? And how do we differ from other species? In our project, we use an interdisciplinary comparative approach and pursue three aims. First, we investigate innovative tool use in preschool children taking a process perspective that allows for a more detailed analysis of why young children may fail. Second, we study potential relations between the process of tool innovation and self-regulation, because self-regulation allows for flexible adaptation to different situations and might be crucial when it comes to solving a problem innovatively. Third, we compare preschool chil-dre's perforaae to the ehaaior of apuhi ookees i a aaalogue...
The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human spec... more The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human species. But how does innovation develop in human ontogeny? Which basic skills are needed to act innovatively? And how do we differ from other species? In our project, we use an interdisciplinary comparative approach and pursue three aims. First, we investigate innovative tool use in preschool children taking a process perspective that allows for a more detailed analysis of why young children may fail. Second, we study potential relations between the process of tool innovation and self-regulation, because self-regulation allows for flexible adaptation to different situations and might be crucial when it comes to solving a problem innovatively. Third, we compare preschool children’s performance to the behavior of capuchin monkeys in an analogue paradigm. The present report describes our project in more detail and outlines the current project state as well as the next steps.
Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complet... more Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complete and balanced diet for primates. In addition to the nutritional value of a food, its palatability, frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation may also be important for determining whether it is accepted by the animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the food preferences of 26 captive capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) using monkey chow and a variety of foods, which ranged from being very familiar to completely novel to the monkeys, and to assess whether the frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation affected their food preferences. Food preferences were scored in terms of the food item chosen and whether it was then eaten. In Experiment 1, subjects encountered paired combinations of seven familiar foods (present in the monkeys' diet with different frequencies), including monkey chow. In Experiments 2 and 3, monkey chow was paired...
Humans and other animals have a strong propensity to explore the environment. When human infants,... more Humans and other animals have a strong propensity to explore the environment. When human infants, as well as other primates, face the opportunity to interact with the environment by manipulating objects, they may discover and learn the contingency between one action and its outcome. Thus, manipulation, as a form of spontaneous exploration, has a great biological significance, since it allows to discover and learn the relationship between action and effect, enabling humans and other animals to plan goal-directed tasks. How do the specific characteristics of the primate’s body influence this process? With its large amount of degrees of freedom, sensors, and nervous terminations, the hand is the main interface with the external world, and it profoundly influences the primates’ interaction with the environment. How does object exploration mediated by manual actions affect the acquisition of problem-solving abilities? To try to answer this question, we experimentally compared how childre...
The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human spec... more The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human species. But how does innovation develop in human ontogeny? Which basic skills are needed to act innovatively? And how do we differ from other species? In our project, we use an interdisciplinary comparative approach and pursue three aims. First, we investigate innovative tool use in preschool children taking a process perspective that allows for a more detailed analysis of why young children may fail. Second, we study potential relations between the process of tool innovation and self-regulation, because self-regulation allows for flexible adaptation to different situations and might be crucial when it comes to solving a problem innovatively. Third, we compare preschool childre ’s perfor a e to the eha ior of apu hi o ke s i a a alogue paradig . The present report describes our project in more detail and outlines the current project state as well as the next steps.
Self-directed object manipulation tasks illuminate development of motor planning. Grasping strate... more Self-directed object manipulation tasks illuminate development of motor planning. Grasping strategies that lead to good object control to perform the following action(s) reveal second-order motor planning. Motor planning for efficient grips develops slowly in children. Age-related differences in other primates have been poorly investigated. Here, we investigated anticipatory motor planning of infant, juvenile and adult wild capuchin monkeys grasping a horizontally-positioned stick baited to the left or right side (a version of the elevated spoon task). We recorded the grasps capuchins used to bring the baited end of the stick to the mouth. The percentage of efficient radial grips positively correlated with age and adults used efficient grips significantly more frequently than infants. Adult wild capuchins' use of radial grips was higher than that reported for adult captive capuchins in similar tasks, suggesting that experience throughout life may influence motor anticipation. Self-directed object manipulation tasks will be useful to compare this aspect of cognition across primates.
The way in which animals grasp objects to perform subsequent action execution allows studying the... more The way in which animals grasp objects to perform subsequent action execution allows studying their anticipatory abilities. We examined whether 11 capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) were able to prospectively grasp a magnetic dowel to use it as a tool to retrieve a baited metallic container from a plexiglas box placed in front of them. We investigated whether and how initial dowel orientation (horizontal vs vertical) affected grasping and using the dowel to retrieve the container in two testing conditions: (1) 2-FE condition in which the dowel had two functional magnetic ends; (2) 1-FE condition in which the dowel had only one functional magnetic end. In the 2-FE condition, capuchins had to take into account the initial dowel orientation since both ends were functional, whereas in the 1-FE condition capuchins had also to take into account the initial functional end position when grasping the dowel. Capuchins were trained to grasp the dowel to put one functional end in contact with the metallic container. However, they did not learn to associate the functional end of the 1-FE dowel to successful retrieval. Capuchins showed better anticipatory planning (1) in 2-FE than in 1-FE condition and (2) when the dowel was initially positioned on the horizontal plane than on the vertical one. Moreover, hand preferences affected planning in the 1-FE condition. Results were discussed within the frameworks of primates' abilities to use abstract cues and on their abilities to process functional features and spatial cues and to perform mental rotations.
Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complet... more Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complete and balanced diet for primates. In addition to the nutritional value of a food, its palatability, frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation may also be important for determining whether it is accepted by the animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the food preferences of 26 captive capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) using monkey chow and a variety of foods, which ranged from being very familiar to completely novel to the monkeys, and to assess whether the frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation affected their food preferences. Food preferences were scored in terms of the food item chosen and whether it was then eaten. In Experiment 1, subjects encountered paired combinations of seven familiar foods (present in the monkeys' diet with different frequencies), including monkey chow. In Experiments 2 and 3, monkey chow was paired with seven novel foods (not previously present in the monkeys' diet) and seven ex-novel foods (previously only encountered repeatedly during an earlier experiment) respectively. The results show that monkey chow, despite its high energy content, was not very attractive to capuchin monkeys. Other familiar foods (especially those not presented daily) were chosen and eaten more frequently than the monkey chow, and novel foods were chosen more frequently than the monkey chow. The findings of this study have implications for the feeding husbandry of captive primates. Familiar foods presented in the diet each day are less preferred; therefore good practice would be to alternate foods over time. Occasional presentation of novel food items could be a stimulating and economical method of providing sensory enrichment.
Gettig that thig out of the o: The otriutio of self-regulatio i ioatio proesses i hua hildre Hoo ... more Gettig that thig out of the o: The otriutio of self-regulatio i ioatio proesses i hua hildre Hoo sapies ad a o-hua priate speies "apajus spp. Abstract The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human species. But how does innovation develop in human ontogeny? Which basic skills are needed to act innovatively? And how do we differ from other species? In our project, we use an interdisciplinary comparative approach and pursue three aims. First, we investigate innovative tool use in preschool children taking a process perspective that allows for a more detailed analysis of why young children may fail. Second, we study potential relations between the process of tool innovation and self-regulation, because self-regulation allows for flexible adaptation to different situations and might be crucial when it comes to solving a problem innovatively. Third, we compare preschool chil-dre's perforaae to the ehaaior of apuhi ookees i a aaalogue...
The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human spec... more The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human species. But how does innovation develop in human ontogeny? Which basic skills are needed to act innovatively? And how do we differ from other species? In our project, we use an interdisciplinary comparative approach and pursue three aims. First, we investigate innovative tool use in preschool children taking a process perspective that allows for a more detailed analysis of why young children may fail. Second, we study potential relations between the process of tool innovation and self-regulation, because self-regulation allows for flexible adaptation to different situations and might be crucial when it comes to solving a problem innovatively. Third, we compare preschool children’s performance to the behavior of capuchin monkeys in an analogue paradigm. The present report describes our project in more detail and outlines the current project state as well as the next steps.
Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complet... more Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complete and balanced diet for primates. In addition to the nutritional value of a food, its palatability, frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation may also be important for determining whether it is accepted by the animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the food preferences of 26 captive capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) using monkey chow and a variety of foods, which ranged from being very familiar to completely novel to the monkeys, and to assess whether the frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation affected their food preferences. Food preferences were scored in terms of the food item chosen and whether it was then eaten. In Experiment 1, subjects encountered paired combinations of seven familiar foods (present in the monkeys' diet with different frequencies), including monkey chow. In Experiments 2 and 3, monkey chow was paired...
Humans and other animals have a strong propensity to explore the environment. When human infants,... more Humans and other animals have a strong propensity to explore the environment. When human infants, as well as other primates, face the opportunity to interact with the environment by manipulating objects, they may discover and learn the contingency between one action and its outcome. Thus, manipulation, as a form of spontaneous exploration, has a great biological significance, since it allows to discover and learn the relationship between action and effect, enabling humans and other animals to plan goal-directed tasks. How do the specific characteristics of the primate’s body influence this process? With its large amount of degrees of freedom, sensors, and nervous terminations, the hand is the main interface with the external world, and it profoundly influences the primates’ interaction with the environment. How does object exploration mediated by manual actions affect the acquisition of problem-solving abilities? To try to answer this question, we experimentally compared how childre...
The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human spec... more The capacity to innovate is regarded as one major cause for explaining the rise of the human species. But how does innovation develop in human ontogeny? Which basic skills are needed to act innovatively? And how do we differ from other species? In our project, we use an interdisciplinary comparative approach and pursue three aims. First, we investigate innovative tool use in preschool children taking a process perspective that allows for a more detailed analysis of why young children may fail. Second, we study potential relations between the process of tool innovation and self-regulation, because self-regulation allows for flexible adaptation to different situations and might be crucial when it comes to solving a problem innovatively. Third, we compare preschool childre ’s perfor a e to the eha ior of apu hi o ke s i a a alogue paradig . The present report describes our project in more detail and outlines the current project state as well as the next steps.
Self-directed object manipulation tasks illuminate development of motor planning. Grasping strate... more Self-directed object manipulation tasks illuminate development of motor planning. Grasping strategies that lead to good object control to perform the following action(s) reveal second-order motor planning. Motor planning for efficient grips develops slowly in children. Age-related differences in other primates have been poorly investigated. Here, we investigated anticipatory motor planning of infant, juvenile and adult wild capuchin monkeys grasping a horizontally-positioned stick baited to the left or right side (a version of the elevated spoon task). We recorded the grasps capuchins used to bring the baited end of the stick to the mouth. The percentage of efficient radial grips positively correlated with age and adults used efficient grips significantly more frequently than infants. Adult wild capuchins' use of radial grips was higher than that reported for adult captive capuchins in similar tasks, suggesting that experience throughout life may influence motor anticipation. Self-directed object manipulation tasks will be useful to compare this aspect of cognition across primates.
The way in which animals grasp objects to perform subsequent action execution allows studying the... more The way in which animals grasp objects to perform subsequent action execution allows studying their anticipatory abilities. We examined whether 11 capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) were able to prospectively grasp a magnetic dowel to use it as a tool to retrieve a baited metallic container from a plexiglas box placed in front of them. We investigated whether and how initial dowel orientation (horizontal vs vertical) affected grasping and using the dowel to retrieve the container in two testing conditions: (1) 2-FE condition in which the dowel had two functional magnetic ends; (2) 1-FE condition in which the dowel had only one functional magnetic end. In the 2-FE condition, capuchins had to take into account the initial dowel orientation since both ends were functional, whereas in the 1-FE condition capuchins had also to take into account the initial functional end position when grasping the dowel. Capuchins were trained to grasp the dowel to put one functional end in contact with the metallic container. However, they did not learn to associate the functional end of the 1-FE dowel to successful retrieval. Capuchins showed better anticipatory planning (1) in 2-FE than in 1-FE condition and (2) when the dowel was initially positioned on the horizontal plane than on the vertical one. Moreover, hand preferences affected planning in the 1-FE condition. Results were discussed within the frameworks of primates' abilities to use abstract cues and on their abilities to process functional features and spatial cues and to perform mental rotations.
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Papers by Gloria Sabbatini