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35 - Do Apes and Monkeys Know What They (Don’t) Know?

The Question of Metacognition in Primates

from Part VI - Innovation and Problem-Solving

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2021

By
Heidi L. Marsh
Edited by
Allison B. Kaufman ,
Josep Call  and
James C. Kaufman
Allison B. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Josep Call
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Summary

Over the past quarter of a century, scientists have attempted to answer the question of whether humans are unique in their self-reflective abilities, or whether versions of this might exist in nonhuman animals as well. This chapter explores the research on whether nonhuman primates (hereafter, primates) have the ability to monitor and control their own knowledge states, or metacognition. The chapter describes the two main paradigms that have traditionally been used to investigate this question, as well as their associated variations and limitations. This is followed by a summary of what has been found to date, with respect to metacognitive abilities across the primate order. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the questions that remain and areas for future investigation.

Keywords

metacognitionprimatesinformation-seekingapesknowledge state
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Animal Cognition , pp. 755 - 769
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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