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Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) exploit information about what others can see but not what they can hear.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bray, J; Krupenye, C; Hare, B
Published in: Animal cognition
May 2014

Studies suggest that haplorhine primates are sensitive to what others can see and hear. Using two experimental designs, we tested the hypothesis that ring-tailed lemurs (N = 16) are also sensitive to the visual and auditory perception of others. In the first task, we used a go/no-go design that required lemurs to exploit only auditory information. In the second task, we used a forced-choice design where lemurs competed against a human who would prevent them from obtaining food if their approaches were detected. Subjects were given the choice of obtaining food silently or noisily when the competitor's back was turned. They were also given the choice to obtain food when the competitor could either see them or not. Here, we replicate the findings of previous studies indicating that ring-tailed lemurs are sensitive to whether they can be seen; however, we found no evidence that subjects are sensitive to whether others can hear them. Our findings suggest that ring-tailed lemurs converge with haplorhine primates only in their sensitivity to the visual information of others. The results emphasize the importance of investigating social cognition across sensory domains in order to elucidate the cognitive mechanisms that underlie apparently complex social behavior. These findings also suggest that the social dynamics of haplorhine groups impose greater cognitive demands than lemur groups, despite similarities in total group size.

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Published In

Animal cognition

DOI

EISSN

1435-9456

ISSN

1435-9448

Publication Date

May 2014

Volume

17

Issue

3

Start / End Page

735 / 744

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Social Behavior
  • Male
  • Lemur
  • Female
  • Choice Behavior
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Auditory Perception
  • Animals
  • 52 Psychology
 

Citation

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Bray, J., Krupenye, C., & Hare, B. (2014). Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) exploit information about what others can see but not what they can hear. Animal Cognition, 17(3), 735–744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0705-0
Bray, Joel, Christopher Krupenye, and Brian Hare. “Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) exploit information about what others can see but not what they can hear.Animal Cognition 17, no. 3 (May 2014): 735–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0705-0.
Bray J, Krupenye C, Hare B. Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) exploit information about what others can see but not what they can hear. Animal cognition. 2014 May;17(3):735–44.
Bray, Joel, et al. “Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) exploit information about what others can see but not what they can hear.Animal Cognition, vol. 17, no. 3, May 2014, pp. 735–44. Epmc, doi:10.1007/s10071-013-0705-0.
Bray J, Krupenye C, Hare B. Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) exploit information about what others can see but not what they can hear. Animal cognition. 2014 May;17(3):735–744.
Journal cover image

Published In

Animal cognition

DOI

EISSN

1435-9456

ISSN

1435-9448

Publication Date

May 2014

Volume

17

Issue

3

Start / End Page

735 / 744

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Social Behavior
  • Male
  • Lemur
  • Female
  • Choice Behavior
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Auditory Perception
  • Animals
  • 52 Psychology