Abstract:

A long-standing hypothesis is that children exhibit high fidelity imitative copying of a model’s actions, whereas nonhuman apes focus only on results (emulation). This study explores this hypothesis by employing eye-tracking technology to compare the attentional foci of apes and human children during observational learning of novel tool-use. Subjects are presented with video demonstrations of a conspecific solving a two-action tool-use task ('pan-pipes'), after which the fidelity of their own attempts are compared. Video displays feature both wide and close-up views displaying different elements of the task including the conspecific's face, body, hand and tool movements, specific parts of the apparatus moved, and the reward released. This experimental setup allows for an in-depth analysis of where subjects direct their attention during learning and whether they anticipate the demonstrator's actions over repeated presentations. The study thus tests hypotheses regarding the similarity or difference in attentional patterns between apes and children and potential correlations between these patterns and task performance. We will examine species differences and the relationship between attention patterns and task success. This research contributes to our understanding of social learning processes across species, extending previous findings on imitation and emulation in apes and children.

Speaker's social media:

@louiseemackie