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21 - Chimpanzee Thought Transfer

Communication and Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2020

Kevin D. Hunt
Kevin D. Hunt
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
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Summary

An extraordinary experiment conducted by Emil Menzel (Menzel, 1971, 1973, 1979) revealed the sophistication of chimpanzee nonverbal communication as none had ever done before. He picked a single chimpanzee from his research group and, out of sight of other group members, walked him around an outdoor enclosure, hiding food as he went. This “knower” was then returned to the social group to interact with other chimpanzees. Menzel then released the entire group into the enclosure. The group rushed into the enclosure in a fever of excitement, anticipating retrieving highly desirable treats and quickly found them. Incredibly, sometimes the knower was not the first to reach the treats. Others ran ahead to find it first.

Type
Chapter
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Chimpanzee
Lessons from our Sister Species
 , pp. 383 - 403
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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