Abstract
Of 114 chimpanzees, 55 exchanged non-edible items for food items, indicating a proportion significantly greater than chance. In addition, those animals which did exchange were more likely to when encouraged by human solicitation. These behaviors suggest a social significance beyond simple behavioral economics in processing information about giving and getting Further, these and several observed manipulations of reward-getting suggest that chimpanzees may also have a limited understanding of the expression and manipulation of the relative values of certain items. The behavioral foundations of and theoretical implications for primate social cognition and economic psychology are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 177-187 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Behavioural Processes |
Volume | 42 |
Issue number | 2-3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1998 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Barter
- Chimpanzee
- Object exchange
- Reinforcement
- Social cognition
- Value
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Behavioral Neuroscience