Use of numerical symbols by the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes): Cardinals, ordinals, and the introduction of zero |
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Authors: | Dora Biro Tetsuro Matsuzawa |
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Institution: | (1) Animal Behaviour Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK,;(2) Section of Language and Intelligence, Department of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan, |
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Abstract: | An adult female chimpanzee with previous training in the use of Arabic numerals 1–9 was introduced to the meaning of "zero"
in the context of three different numerical tasks. The first two were cardinal tasks where the subject was required either
to select numerals corresponding to the number of items presented on a computer screen (productive use of numerals) or to
match sets of the appropriate size to numerals presented as samples (receptive use). The third task addressed the ordinal
meaning of the same symbols where the subject was required to respond to numerals sequentially, arranging them into an ascending
series. The subject mastered the recognition of the meaning of zero in all three tasks. However, details of her usage of the
symbol revealed that transfer of the meaning between different kinds of tasks was incomplete, suggesting that the level of
abstraction characteristic of human numerical ability was not attained in the chimpanzee. Over the course of acquisition leading
to the high levels of accuracy eventually observed, the newly introduced zero appeared to shift along the length of a continuous
numerical scale toward the lower end, while confusions with 1 remained the most frequently encountered mistakes. Such patterns
of error thus suggest that Ai's understanding of the meaning of zero in relation to the rest of the number symbols was not
consistent with an "absence of items versus presence of items" scheme.
Electronic Publication |
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Keywords: | Numerical competence Cardinals Ordinals Zero Chimpanzee |
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