Abstract
Cultural species can - or even prefer to - learn their skills from conspecifics. According to the cultural intelligence hypothesis, selection on underlying mechanisms not only improves this social learning ability but also the asocial (individual) learning ability. Thus, species with systematically richer opportunities to socially acquire knowledge and skills should over time evolve to become more intelligent. We experimentally compared the problem-solving ability of Sumatran orang-utans (Pongo abelii), which are sociable in the wild, with that of the closely related, but more solitary Bornean orang-utans (P. pygmaeus), under the homogeneous environmental conditions provided by zoos. Our results revealed that Sumatrans showed superior innate problem-solving skills to Borneans, and also showed greater inhibition and a more cautious and less rough exploration style. This pattern is consistent with the cultural intelligence hypothesis, which predicts that the more sociable of two sister species experienced stronger selection on cognitive mechanisms underlying learning.
Highlights
We tested the prediction that greater opportunities for social learning are associated with a different exploration style and greater asocial learning ability[14]
A highly significant binomial Generalized Linear Mixed-effects Model (GLMM) (χ2ML = 33.24, Nobs = 196, P < 0.0005; Table 1) revealed that, while controlling for the potentially confounding effects of age, sex, group size, the number of zoos a subject had lived in, and task identity, Sumatran subjects were significantly more likely to solve a task than their Bornean congeners (B = 1.934, SE = 0.74, z = 2.63, P < 0.01, Fig. 1, Table 1)
The results showed a clear and consistent pattern: Sumatran orang-utans, Pongo abelii, performed better in a variety of tests of physical cognition compared to the Bornean species, Pongo pygmaeus (Fig. 1 and Table 1)
Summary
We tested the prediction that greater opportunities for social learning are associated with a different exploration style and greater asocial learning ability[14]. Sumatran populations show higher densities[31,32] and are consistently more gregarious and socially tolerant[32,33] They show much greater repertoires of learned skills and exploratory behaviour[28], along with greater cultural repertoires in general[6]. Because housing and rearing conditions, which may range from deprivation to enculturation, have a major impact on the cognitive development of apes[36,37], a proper test of the possibly subtle differences in cognitive performance crucially requires that the conditions be as identical as possible Since this cannot possibly be achieved in the natural environment, we turned to zoo-housed orang-utans. Some studies suggest a relationship between inhibitory control and higher cognitive abilities[44,45]
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