Authors: Westergaard, Gregory¹; Liv, Chanya²; Rocca, Andrea³; Cleveland, Allison³; Suomi, Stephen²

Source: Animal Cognition, Volume 7, Number 1, January 2004 , pp. 19-24(6)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

This research examined exchange and value attribution in tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). We presented subjects with opportunities to obtain various foods and a tool from an experimenter in exchange for the foods or tool in the subjects' possession. The times elapsed before the first chow biscuits were expelled and/or an exchange took place were recorded as the dependent measures. Laboratory chow biscuits, grapes, apples, and a metal bolt (a tool used to probe for syrup) were used as experimental stimuli. The subjects demonstrated the ability to recognize that exchanges could occur when an experimenter was present with a desirable food. Results indicate that subjects exhibited significant variation in their willingness to barter based upon the types of foods that were both in their possession and presented by the experimenter. Subjects more readily traded chow biscuits for fruit, and more readily traded apples for grapes than grapes for apples. During the exchange of tools and food, the subjects preferred the following in descending order when the probing apparatus was baited with sweet syrup: grapes, metal bolts, and chow biscuits. However when the apparatus was not baited, the values changed to the following in descending order: grapes, chow, and metal bolts. These results indicate that tufted capuchins recognize opportunities to exchange and engage in a simple barter system whereby low-valued foods are readily traded for more highly valued food. Furthermore, these capuchins demonstrate that their value for a tool changes depending upon its utility.

Keywords: Cebus apella; Tool use; Exchange; Barter; Food sharing

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10071-003-0181-z

Affiliations: 1: Division of Research and Development, LABS of Virginia, Inc., 95 Castle Hall Road, P.O. Box 557, Yemassee, SC, 29945, USA, Email: Gwprimate@netscape.net 2: Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, P.O. Box 529, Poolseville, MD, 20837, USA, 3: Division of Research and Development, LABS of Virginia, Inc., 95 Castle Hall Road, P.O. Box 557, Yemassee, SC, 29945, USA,

Publication date: 2004-01-01

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