Formation of empirical concepts in primates of various taxonomic groups
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2687-1270-2022-3-1-89-99Keywords:
non-human primates, preschool children, formation of empirical concepts, faculty of judgement by analogy, inductive function of abstract thinking, deductive function of abstract thinkingAbstract
Much has been written about categorization in primates. However, there is a dearth in comparative studies on the formation of concepts and faculty of judgement by analogy (the part of analogical reasoning) in primates of various taxonomic groups. Our study is a comparative investigation of the formation of empirical concepts and faculty of judgement by analogy in semi-monkeys (ring-tailed lemurs), Old World monkeys (rhesus macaques), small apes (white-handed gibbons) and children aged 4 to 5. The formation of empirical concepts included the ability to differentiate between different object features. Four images were presented per a trial. The number of features underlying a concept did not affect the formation of concepts in lemurs and macaques while it made a difference for gibbons and children. This might be due to the use of different learning strategies during the formation of concepts. The children were faster than the non-human subjects to form concepts based on one feature due to the faculty of judgement by analogy. However, they lost their advantage when the formation of the concept was based on two features. Gibbons had big difficulties when inhibitory control was necessary for inhibiting the previous concept to form a new one. The study focused on the inductive function of abstract thinking responsible for the formation of concepts based on one or two features and the deductive function of abstract thinking responsible for faculty of judgement by analogy in primates of various taxonomic groups.
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