The Library
Great apes and human children rationally monitor their decisions
Tools
O'Madagain, Cathal, Helming, Katharina A., Schmidt, Marco F. H., Shupe, Eli, Call, Josep and Tomasello, Michael (2022) Great apes and human children rationally monitor their decisions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 289 (1971). 20212686. doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.2686 ISSN 0962-8452.
|
PDF
rspb.2021.2686.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (752Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.2686
Abstract
Several species can detect when they are uncertain about what decision to make-revealed by opting out of the choice, or by seeking more information before deciding. However, we do not know whether any nonhuman animals recognize when they need more information to make a decision because new evidence contradicts an already-formed belief. Here, we explore this ability in great apes and human children. First, we show that after great apes saw new evidence contradicting their belief about which of two rewards was greater, they stopped to recheck the evidence for their belief before deciding. This indicates the ability to keep track of the reasons for their decisions, or 'rational monitoring' of the decision-making process. Children did the same at 5 years of age, but not at 3 years. In a second study, participants formed a belief about a reward's location, but then a social partner contradicted them, by picking the opposite location. This time even 3-year-old children rechecked the evidence, while apes ignored the disagreement. While apes were sensitive only to the conflict in physical evidence, the youngest children were more sensitive to peer disagreement than conflicting physical evidence.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology | ||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Decision making -- Psychological aspects, Decision making in children, Hominids -- Psychology, Metacognition, Metacognition in children, Information behavior | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | ||||||||
Publisher: | The Royal Society Publishing | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0962-8452 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 30 March 2022 | ||||||||
Dates: |
|
||||||||
Volume: | 289 | ||||||||
Number: | 1971 | ||||||||
Article Number: | 20212686 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2021.2686 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 15 February 2023 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 15 February 2023 |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year