Do infant Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata) categorize objects without specific training?

Primates. 2004 Jan;45(1):1-6. doi: 10.1007/s10329-003-0053-9. Epub 2003 Sep 19.

Abstract

In the present study, we examined whether infant Japanese macaques categorize objects without any training, using a similar technique also used with human infants (the paired-preference method). During the familiarization phase, subjects were presented twice with two pairs of different objects from one global-level category. During the test phase, they were presented twice with a pair consisting of a novel familiar-category object and a novel global-level category object. The subjects were tested with three global-level categories (animal, furniture, and vehicle). It was found that they showed significant novelty preferences as a whole, indicating that they processed similarities between familiarization objects and novel familiar-category objects. These results suggest that subjects responded distinctively to objects without training, indicating the possibility that infant macaques possess the capacity for categorization.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Cognition*
  • Concept Formation*
  • Generalization, Stimulus*
  • Japan
  • Macaca / psychology*
  • Male