Abstract
Four number-trained rhesus monkeys were trained to enumerate their sequential responses. After completing a series of computerized maze trials, the monkeys were given a same/different discrimination involving a numerical stimulus (an Arabic numeral or a visual quantity) and the letterD. The goal was to choose the numerical stimulus if it matched the number of just-completed maze trials, and to choose the letterD if it did not. There were large individual differences in performance, but one animal performed above 70% when receiving randomly intermixed series of 1, 3, 5, and 9 maze trials. This indicates that the monkey was keeping track of the approximate number of maze trials completed in each series and using that numerical cue to respond during the same/different discrimination.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Beran, M. J. (2001). Summation and numerousness judgments of sequentially presented sets of items by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).Journal of Comparative Psychology,115, 181–191.
Beran, M. J., &Rumbaugh, D. M. (2001). “Constructive” enumeration by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) on a computerized task.Animal Cognition,4, 81–89.
Biro, D., &Matsuzawa, T. (2001). Use of numerical symbols by the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes): Cardinals, ordinals, and the introduction of zero.Animal Cognition,4, 193–199.
Boysen, S. T., &Berntson, G. G. (1989). Numerical competence in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).Journal of Comparative Psychology,103, 23–31.
Boysen, S. T., &Berntson, G. G. (1995). Responses to quantity: Perceptual versus cognitive mechanisms in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,21, 82–86.
Brannon, E. M., &Terrace, H. S. (2000). Representation of the numerosities 1–9 by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,26, 31–49.
Burns, R. A., &Criddle, C. R. (2001). Retention of ordinal position information with limited and extended serial training.Psychological Record,51, 445–452.
Burns, R. A., Goettl, M. E., &Burt, S. T. (1995). Numerical discrimination with arrhythmic serial presentations.Psychological Record,45, 95–104.
Burns, R. A., Johnson, K. S., Harris, B. A., Kinney, B. A., &Wright, S. E. (2004). Functional cues for position learning effects in animals.Psychological Record,54, 233–254.
Call, J. (2000). Estimating and operating on discrete quantities in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).Journal of Comparative Psychology,114, 136–147.
Capaldi, E. J., &Miller, D. J. (1988). Counting in rats: Its functional significance and the independent cognitive processes that constitute it.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,14, 3–17.
Capaldi, E. J., &Miller, D. J. (2004). Serial learning in rats: A test of three hypotheses.Learning & Motivation,35, 71–81.
Davis, H. (1984). Discrimination of the number three by a raccoon (Procyon lotor).Animal Learning & Behavior,12, 409–413.
Davis, H., &Bradford, S. A. (1986). Counting behavior by rats in a simulated natural environment.Ethology,73, 265–280.
Davis, H., &Pérusse, R. (1988). Numerical competence in animals: Definitional issues, current evidence, and a new research agenda.Behavioral & Brain Sciences,11, 561–615.
Dehaene, S. (1997).The number sense: How the mind creates mathematics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Emmerton, J. (1998). Numerosity differences and effects of stimulus density on pigeons’ discrimination performance.Animal Learning & Behavior,26, 243–256.
Gallistel, C. R., &Gelman, R. (2000). Non-verbal numerical cognition: From reals to integers.Trends in Cognitive Sciences,4, 59–65.
Gulledge, J. P. (1999).Judgments of dot arrays and Arabic numerals by rhesus macaques: Evidence of concept of number. Unpublished master’s thesis, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
Harris, E. H., &Washburn, D. A. (2005). Macaques’ (Macaca mulatta) use of numerical cues in maze trials.Animal Cognition,8, 190–199.
Hauser, M. D., Carey, S., &Hauser, L. B. (2000). Spontaneous number representation in semi-free-ranging rhesus monkeys.Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series B,267, 829–833.
Matsuzawa, T. (1985). Use of numbers by a chimpanzee.Nature,315, 57–59.
Moyer, R. S., &Landauer, T. K. (1967). Time required for judgments of numerical inequality.Nature,215, 1519–1520.
Murofushi, K. (1997). Numerical matching behavior by a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes): Subitizing and analogue magnitude estimation.Japanese Psychological Research,39, 140–153.
Nieder, A., Freedman, D. J., &Miller, E. K. (2002). Representation of the quantity of visual items in the primate prefrontal cortex.Science,297, 1708–1711.
Pepperberg, I. M. (1994). Numerical competence in an African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus).Journal of Comparative Psychology,108, 36–44.
Roberts, W. A., &Mitchell, S. (1994). Can a pigeon simultaneously process temporal and numerical information?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,20, 66–78.
Rumbaugh, D. M., Richardson, W. K., Washburn, D. A., Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S., &Hopkins, W. D. (1989). Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), video tasks, and implications for stimulus-response spatial contiguity.Journal of Comparative Psychology,103, 32–38.
Smith, J. D., Shields, W. E., &Washburn, D. A. (2003). The comparative psychology of uncertainty monitoring and metacognition.Behavioral & Brain Sciences,26, 317–373.
Thomas, R. K., Fowlkes, D., &Vickery, J. D. (1980). Conceptual numerousness judgments by squirrel monkeys.American Journal of Psychology,93, 247–257.
Tomonaga, M., &Matsuzawa, T. (2002). Enumeration of briefly presented items by the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and humans (Homo sapiens).Animal Learning & Behavior,30, 143–157.
Washburn, D. A., &Gulledge, J. P. (2002). A species difference in visuospatial working memory in human adults and rhesus monkeys: The concentration game.International Journal of Comparative Psychology,15, 288–302.
Washburn, D. A., &Rumbaugh, D. M. (1991). Ordinal judgments of numerical symbols by macaques (Macaca mulatta).Psychological Science,2, 190–193.
Washburn, D. A., &Rumbaugh, D. M. (1997). Faster is smarter, so why are we slower? A comparative perspective on intelligence and processing speed.American Psychologist,52, 1147–1148.
Xia, L., Emmerton, J., Siemann, M., &Delius, J. D. (2001). Pigeons (Columba livia) learn to link numerosities with symbols.Journal of Comparative Psychology,115, 83–91.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by a Grant HD-38051 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the Language Research Center of Georgia State University, and by a Rumbaugh Fellowship to E.H.H. Portions of this research were submitted to Georgia State University by E.H.H. as partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Arts. The authors thank Eric J. Vanman for his thoughts and comments during this project. All applicable federal, disciplinary, and institutional rules and regulations regarding animal care and use have been followed in the care and testing of the monkeys.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harris, E.H., Washburn, D.A., Beran, M.J. et al. Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) select Arabic numerals or visual quantities corresponding to a number of sequentially completed maze trials. Animal Learning & Behavior 35, 53–59 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196074
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196074