By: Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer
Published: 04/12/2012 12:26 PM EDT on LiveScience
Chimps and toddlers rely on the "wisdom of the crowd" to sway their decision-making processes, new research indicates. Orangutans don't, which could be because they live solitary lives.
The researchers were interested in finding out more about social learning — how one animal picks up behaviors from others rather than learning something by trial and error. This could be anything from tool use to cultural traditions.
This social learning is present in many primate species and has been seen throughout the animal kingdom.
"We study humans, chimpanzees and orangutans, because they are closely related species, all belonging to the great ape family," study researcher Daniel Haun, of the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany, told LiveScience. "Investigating similarities and differences between closely related species provides insight into what makes each of them unique against the backdrop of their close relatives."
The researchers did two experiments on humans, chimps and orangutans. The experiments revolved around a contraption with three different-colored sections and holes in the top. Some of the participants were trained, with treats as rewards, to put a ball in only one of the holes. The researchers wanted to see how the choices of their peers influenced an untrained participant.
In the first experiment, the researchers took 16 human toddlers, age 2, 15 chimps and 12 orangutans and showed them a group of four trained peers. Three of the group members chose one color option, while the fourth chose a different option three times (and got three rewards).
After this show, the researcher let the untrained participant into the testing chamber and let them choose a color section. The researchers found that the humans and chimps were more likely to choose the same option that the majority of their friends did (the option that was chosen three times by three different individuals), meaning they were learning from the majority. The orangutans didn't respond in the same way, randomly choosing different sections of the contraption.
In the second experiment, the researchers wanted to find out if the learning had to do with this idea of following the majority or if it just reflected the number of times the participants saw a certain choice, even if it wasn't made by different individuals.
So they had a new set of participants (14 toddlers, age 2, 14 chimpanzees and 14 orangutans) watch two of their peers play with the food-dispensing contraption. One of them got three turns to place a ball into one opening (which the researchers called the "frequent" opening), while the other only got one go (the "rare" opening) at it.
They saw that the untrained chimpanzees and orangutans, after watching their peers, distributed their balls randomly among the three options presented; only human tots preferred the "frequent" opening that they had seen their peer use three times, instead of the "rare" opening which they had only seen used once.
The difference between these primates could lie in their social strategy, Haun said.
"While chimpanzees live in large social groups all their lives, orangutans, once the offspring leaves the mother, live a largely solitary life with occasional encounters. So chimps can learn from others all their lives, while orangutans have to rely much more heavily on individual learning," he said.
This study was published online April 12 in the journal Current Biology.
You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter, on Google+ or on Facebook. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter and on Facebook.
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.