Mirror behavior and "self-hood" among primates.
Item
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Title
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Mirror behavior and "self-hood" among primates.
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Identifier
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AAI9224796
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identifier
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9224796
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Creator
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Boatright-Horowitz, Susan Littlepage.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Robert L. Thompson
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Behavioral | Psychology, Experimental | Psychology, Psychobiology
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Abstract
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Some of the great apes (e.g., chimpanzees and orangutans) have been reported to exhibit mirror self-recognition (Gallup, 1970; Lethmate & Ducker, 1973) as mirror-mediated touching of dye marks located on the brow or ear (areas of the head which cannot be viewed directly). Successful tests for mirror self-recognition typically involve a period of familiarization to a reflective surface during which "social" responding (e.g., facial displaying) toward the mirror is said to decrease in frequency to be replaced by "self-directed" behavior (e.g., "making faces" toward the mirror, or inspection of the anal-genital area using the mirror). Prior to the research presented here, monkeys have consistently failed tests for mirror self-recognition. Recent evidence (Swartz & Evans, 1992) suggests that mirror self-recognition is less prevalent among chimpanzees than previous reports indicated and that "self-directed" behavior may not be entirely predictive of positive performance during mark tests. The aim of the present work was to investigate further the phenomenon of mirror self-recognition among chimpanzees, as well as its absence among monkeys. In Experiment 1, an attempt was made to replicate previous research with chimpanzees (e.g., Gallup, 1970) using repeated mark tests for self-recognition among individual subjects (e.g., Swartz & Evans, 1992). Of three chimpanzees tested, only one subject exhibited unequivocal evidence of self-recognition and did so during only two of three mark tests. The behavior of monkeys (Macaca nemestrina) was then examined in the presence of mirror self-images. Mirror-looking by monkeys was increased both through schedule induction techniques (Experiment 2) and direct reinforcement (Experiment 3). In general, schedule induced mirror-looking was a transient phenomenon, involving brief (1-2 s duration) looks toward the mirror self-reflection. Sustained looks (up to 20 s duration) toward the self-reflection were then reinforced directly for two of these monkeys (Experiment 3). Given increased levels of mirror experience, the same monkeys were tested for mirror self-recognition using the Gallup mark test and a single monkey was judged to exhibit the phenomenon (Experiment 4). These data appear to be the first demonstration of self-recognition by a monkey. Self-recognition is discussed based upon research with human and non-human primates with emphasis on factors relevant to previous failures to demonstrate self-recognition among monkeys.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
