Great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities and predicted by developmental conditions

Manuel Bohn; Johanna Eckert; Daniel Hanus; Benedikt Lugauer; Jana Holtmann; Daniel B.M. Haun

doi:10.1038/s41559-023-02050-8

Great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities and predicted by developmental conditions

Manuel Bohn^*
, Johanna Eckert
, Daniel Hanus
, Benedikt Lugauer
, Jana Holtmann
, Daniel B.M. Haun

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Great ape cognition is used as a reference point to specify the evolutionary origins of complex cognitive abilities, including in humans. This research often assumes that great ape cognition consists of cognitive abilities (traits) that account for stable differences between individuals, which change and develop in response to experience. Here, we test the validity of these assumptions by assessing repeatability of cognitive performance among captive great apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo abelii, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes) in five tasks covering a range of cognitive domains. We examine whether individual characteristics (age, group, test experience) or transient situational factors (life events, testing arrangements or sociality) influence cognitive performance. Our results show that task-level performance is generally stable over time; four of the five tasks were reliable measurement tools. Performance in the tasks was best explained by stable differences in cognitive abilities (traits) between individuals. Cognitive abilities were further correlated, suggesting shared cognitive processes. Finally, when predicting cognitive performance, we found stable individual characteristics to be more important than variables capturing transient experience. Taken together, this study shows that great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities that respond to different developmental conditions.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature Ecology and Evolution
Volume	7
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	927-938
Number of pages	12
ISSN	2397-334X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02050-8
Publication status	Published - 06.2023
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank D. Olaoba, A. Wolff and N. Eisenbrenner for the data collection. We are very grateful to M. Allritz for his helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper. Furthermore, we thank all keepers at the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Centre for their help conducting this study. We received no specific funding for this work.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 15 Life on Land

Research areas and keywords

Psychology
Animal behaviour
Human behaviour

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Ecology

Access to Document

10.1038/s41559-023-02050-8Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities and predicted by developmental conditions",

abstract = "Great ape cognition is used as a reference point to specify the evolutionary origins of complex cognitive abilities, including in humans. This research often assumes that great ape cognition consists of cognitive abilities (traits) that account for stable differences between individuals, which change and develop in response to experience. Here, we test the validity of these assumptions by assessing repeatability of cognitive performance among captive great apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo abelii, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes) in five tasks covering a range of cognitive domains. We examine whether individual characteristics (age, group, test experience) or transient situational factors (life events, testing arrangements or sociality) influence cognitive performance. Our results show that task-level performance is generally stable over time; four of the five tasks were reliable measurement tools. Performance in the tasks was best explained by stable differences in cognitive abilities (traits) between individuals. Cognitive abilities were further correlated, suggesting shared cognitive processes. Finally, when predicting cognitive performance, we found stable individual characteristics to be more important than variables capturing transient experience. Taken together, this study shows that great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities that respond to different developmental conditions.",

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AU - Eckert, Johanna

AU - Hanus, Daniel

AU - Lugauer, Benedikt

AU - Holtmann, Jana

AU - Haun, Daniel B.M.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank D. Olaoba, A. Wolff and N. Eisenbrenner for the data collection. We are very grateful to M. Allritz for his helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper. Furthermore, we thank all keepers at the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Centre for their help conducting this study. We received no specific funding for this work. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - Great ape cognition is used as a reference point to specify the evolutionary origins of complex cognitive abilities, including in humans. This research often assumes that great ape cognition consists of cognitive abilities (traits) that account for stable differences between individuals, which change and develop in response to experience. Here, we test the validity of these assumptions by assessing repeatability of cognitive performance among captive great apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo abelii, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes) in five tasks covering a range of cognitive domains. We examine whether individual characteristics (age, group, test experience) or transient situational factors (life events, testing arrangements or sociality) influence cognitive performance. Our results show that task-level performance is generally stable over time; four of the five tasks were reliable measurement tools. Performance in the tasks was best explained by stable differences in cognitive abilities (traits) between individuals. Cognitive abilities were further correlated, suggesting shared cognitive processes. Finally, when predicting cognitive performance, we found stable individual characteristics to be more important than variables capturing transient experience. Taken together, this study shows that great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities that respond to different developmental conditions.

AB - Great ape cognition is used as a reference point to specify the evolutionary origins of complex cognitive abilities, including in humans. This research often assumes that great ape cognition consists of cognitive abilities (traits) that account for stable differences between individuals, which change and develop in response to experience. Here, we test the validity of these assumptions by assessing repeatability of cognitive performance among captive great apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo abelii, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes) in five tasks covering a range of cognitive domains. We examine whether individual characteristics (age, group, test experience) or transient situational factors (life events, testing arrangements or sociality) influence cognitive performance. Our results show that task-level performance is generally stable over time; four of the five tasks were reliable measurement tools. Performance in the tasks was best explained by stable differences in cognitive abilities (traits) between individuals. Cognitive abilities were further correlated, suggesting shared cognitive processes. Finally, when predicting cognitive performance, we found stable individual characteristics to be more important than variables capturing transient experience. Taken together, this study shows that great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities that respond to different developmental conditions.

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Great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities and predicted by developmental conditions

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Research areas and keywords

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

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