Abstract
Associative Tool Use (ATU) describes the use of two or more tools in combination, with the literature further differentiating between Tool set use, Tool composite use, Sequential tool use and Secondary tool use. Research investigating the cognitive processes underlying ATU has shown that some primate and bird species spontaneously invent Tool set and Sequential tool use. Yet studies with humans are sparse. Whether children are also able to spontaneously invent ATU behaviours and at what age this ability emerges is poorly understood. We addressed this gap in the literature with two experiments involving preschoolers (E1, N = 66, 3 years 6 months to 4 years 9 months; E2, N = 119, 3 years 0 months to 6 years 10 months) who were administered novel tasks measuring Tool set, Metatool and Sequential tool use. Participants needed to solve the tasks individually, without the opportunity for social learning (except for enhancement effects). Children from 3 years of age spontaneously invented all of the types of investigated ATU behaviours. Success rates were low, suggesting that individual invention of ATU in novel tasks is still challenging for preschoolers. We discuss how future studies can use and expand our tasks to deepen our understanding of tool use and problem-solving in humans and non-human animals.
Highlights
Tools and technology play a dominant role in the lives of humans of all cultures
We found that children succeeded in all three tested types of Associative Tool Use (ATU) individually, without the need for social learning immediate to the experimental context
Sequential tool use was especially challenging (~ 6% Correct success rate). This is possibly due the fact that the Sequential tool use tasks involved two apparatuses, which might have increased general task difficulty compared to the other ATU types
Summary
Tools and technology play a dominant role in the lives of humans of all cultures. They have contributed substantially to the success of our species: our capacities for using, making, and innovating tools have opened up new ecological niches (and are still doing so) and contributed to the coevolution of cumulative culture and social learning and teaching skills (Henrich, 2015; van Schaik et al, 1999). The use and making of many tools has become so complex and/or opaque that they rely on copying of sufficient fidelity, often over extended periods, to be acquired (Gurven et al, 2006; Kaplan & Robson, 2002) Due to this special role of social learning for the acquisition of many forms of tool use, researchers have investigated when, how, and from whom humans, and especially children and adolescents, learn (Bjorklund & Gardiner, 2012; Esseily et al, 2016; Greif & Needham, 2011; Lancy, 2016, 2017; Lew-Levy et al, 2017, 2020; Nagell et al, 1993; Nielsen et al, 2012; Somogyi et al, 2015). We do not aim to add to the potentially confusing terminology by introducing yet another set of definitions, and refer to the nomenclature used by Shumaker et al, 2011; Fig. 1, Table 1) who have become a widely cited source in the field
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