This flexible strategy indicates a relativistic concept of relations, i.e. the appreciation that an object can have different properties depending on the properties of the object(s) it is put in relation with
2008
Key concepts
Scholarcy highlights
- Following classical semiotic theory, a symbol is a sign related to its referent through the conventions agreed upon by a community of users
- 4. DISCUSSION Our study evaluated whether capuchins, after learning to exchange two types of tokens for different quantities of the same food, maximized their pay-off when offered binary choices between various quantities of tokens A and B
- In experiment 1, four out of ten capuchins maximized pay-off by taking into account both token numerousness and what each token represents; at least in some conditions, they correctly chose the highest value offers since the first sessions
- This flexible strategy indicates a relativistic concept of relations, i.e. the appreciation that an object can have different properties depending on the properties of the object(s) it is put in relation with
- When comparing conditions 1B versus 2A and 1B versus 4A, capuchins showed a pattern opposite to that expected on the basis of the numerical ratio, i.e. their performance was higher in the condition 1B versus 4A than in the condition 1B versus 2A, as if condition 1B versus 2A was the most difficult one
- Of the remaining six capuchins, two consistently used token numerousness as a criterion for choice, i.e. their performance significantly increased with the number of tokens A presented
- The reason for this apparent inconsistency might be that in the condition 1B versus 2A, before representing the total amount of food they can get for each choice, capuchins have to inhibit their spontaneous tendency to take the two tokens A
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