Piagetian liquid conservation in the Great Apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, and Pongo pygmaeus)

C Suda*, J Call

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

An understanding of Piagetian liquid conservation was investigated in 4 bonobos (Pan paniscus), 5 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and 5 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). The apes were tested in the ability to track the larger of 2 quantities of juice that had undergone various kinds Of transformations. The accuracy of the apes' judgment depended on the shape or number of containers into which the larger quantity was transferred. The apes made their choice mainly on the basis of visual estimation but showed modest success when the quantities were occluded. The results suggest that the apes rely to a greater extent on visual information, although they might have some appreciation of the constancy of liquid quantities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)265-279
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Comparative Psychology
Volume118
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2004

Keywords

  • SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATIONS
  • PERCEPTUAL STRATEGIES
  • QUANTITY
  • CHIMPANZEE

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