PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Majority-biased learning

In humans and chimpanzees knowledge is transmitted within a group by means of a majority principle

Majority-biased learning
2012-04-13
(Press-News.org) This press release is available in German.

The transmission of knowledge to the next generation is a key feature of human evolution. In particular, humans tend to copy behaviour that is demonstrated by many other individuals. Chimpanzees and orangutans, two of our closest living relatives, also socially pass on traditional behaviour and culture from one generation to another. Whether and how this process resembles the human one is still largely unknown. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen have now discovered that chimpanzees are more likely to copy an action performed by a large number of individuals than an action that was performed more frequently. Two-year old children consider both the number of individuals and the frequency of the action demonstrated. For orangutans, however, none of the factors play a role.

In many animal species, behaviours and strategies are passed on from individuals to their conspecifics and potentially across groups by social learning. In chimpanzees and orangutans, whose behavioural repertoires differ from population to population, knowledge is also "transmitted" amongst individuals. In their current paper, researchers Daniel Haun, Yvonne Rekers and Michael Tomasello of the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology and Psycholinguistics show how human children and chimpanzees pass on knowledge through social learning.

Initially, the researchers wanted to find out whether children and apes are more likely to copy a behaviour that has been demonstrated more often or one that has been demonstrated by more individuals. In the relevant experimental setting, 2-year-old children, chimpanzees and orangutans could receive a reward from an apparatus consisting of three differently coloured subsections if they dropped a ball into a hole. Four individuals then demonstrated an action: One individual dropped a ball into the same section three times; the three others – one after the other - dropped their balls into another section. Finally, the observers were also asked to drop a ball into one of the three sections. The result: Most of the chimpanzees and 16 children chose the section that the majority of individuals had also chosen. Orangutans appeared to select a section quite randomly.

In the second part of the study, the researchers analysed whether the frequency with which a subsection was chosen by the demonstrators had an influence on the result. The set-up was similar to the previous test, with one exception: now it was only two children, chimpanzees or orangutans who demonstrated an action. One individual dropped three balls into one of the coloured subsections and for doing this received one reward per ball. The second demonstrator dropped one ball in a differently coloured section and received one award. The result: Chimpanzees and orangutans seemed to choose randomly whereas most of the children chose the subsection into which more balls had been dropped.

"Taking the results of the two studies together, chimpanzees seemed to consider the number of demonstrators more strongly than the number of demonstrations when deciding which information to extract from their social environment. Children considered both. Orangutans considered neither", says Daniel Haun. Interestingly, children and chimpanzees copied the majority behaviour while orangutans did not. One possible explanation: Contrary to humans and chimpanzees, orangutans live together in lose group structures. Social learning beyond the mother-child-relationship might therefore not play an equally important role.

INFORMATION:

Original paper:

Daniel B.M. Haun, Yvonne Rekers, Michael Tomasello Majority-Biased Transmission in Chimpanzees and Human Children, but Not Orangutans. Current Biology (2012), doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.006

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Majority-biased learning

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New York Civil Rights Violation Lawyer from The Perecman Firm Supports NYCLU Lawsuit Regarding Operation Clean Halls

2012-04-13
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and several other civil rights advocacy groups recently filed a lawsuit of great interest to New York civil rights violation lawyers at The Perecman Firm and other defenders of civil rights. The NYCLU lawsuit (No.12-CIV-2274) was filed against the New York City Police Department. It claims officers violated civil rights and challenges a controversial stop-and-frisk type program in private rental apartment buildings called "Operation Clean Halls." http://www.nyclu.org/news/class-action-lawsuit-challenges-nypd-patrols-of-private-apartment-buildings http://www.nyclu.org/files/releases/Clean_Halls_complaint_3.28.12.PDF ...

New York Commercial Drivers to Be Screened for Sleep Apnea

2012-04-13
Sleep apnea, a condition in which the narrowing of the upper airway results in poor, disrupted sleep, not only results in a bad night's sleep, but also leads to fatigued drivers. In fact, some believe that when it comes to driving, sleep apnea may present as great a danger as too much alcohol. For this reason, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in conjunction with the American Transportation Research Institute of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), will begin screening commercial driver's license (CDL) holders thought to be susceptible ...

Parolees behaving badly

2012-04-13
Los Angeles, CA (April 12, 2012) Police officers are always trying to control the misconduct of those who are on parole in order to control crime in the community, but what types of behaviors land them back in jail and what can law enforcement officials do about it? A recent article in the Journal of Correctional Health Care (JCHC), published by SAGE, discusses how to target the most common risky behaviors among specific groups of parolees in order to lower crime in the community. Researchers David Wyatt Seal, Michelle Parisot, and Wayne DiFranceisco interviewed 126 ...

Ticketing for Suspected Drugged Driving in New York Could Become More Accurate

Ticketing for Suspected Drugged Driving in New York Could Become More Accurate
2012-04-13
Authorities in New York are trying to crackdown on drugged driving. State legislators recently started pushing for a swab test that would allow officers to test for drug use during a traffic stop. Law officials and policymakers believe this will greatly reduce citations for driving while ability impaired by drugs. In New York State, the number of arrests of drivers operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs has increased by nearly 35 percent over the last decade. This may be an indication that law enforcement has already been getting much more aggressive ...

New study identifies promising, achievable solutions to Nigeria's childhood mortality crisis

2012-04-13
Baltimore, MD – A study released today by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has identified the most feasible and impactful solutions for Nigeria's immunization program that could offer the best hope yet for scaling up vaccine access to the nation's most rural areas and taking aim at the country's precipitous number of child deaths. While the nation has made progress on child survival in recent years, Nigeria is still responsible for one out of every eight child deaths worldwide. The country is second only ...

Endangered bats find sanctuary in Israeli 'ghost bunkers'

2012-04-13
Abandoned army bunkers along the Jordan River have become a habitat for 12 indigenous bat species, three of which are already designated as endangered and two that are on the critical list. The bats were recently identified by a group of Tel Aviv University researchers who were granted access to the bunkers, spread out along a 60-mile-long stretch of land between the Sea of Galilee in the north of Israel to the Dead Sea's northern edge. According to Ph.D. student Eran Levin of TAU's Department of Zoology, the local bat population is estimated to be in the thousands. ...

Studies reveal how cells distinguish between disease-causing and innocuous invaders

2012-04-13
The specific mechanisms by which humans and other animals are able to discriminate between disease-causing microbes and innocuous ones in order to rapidly respond to infections have long been a mystery to scientists. But a study conducted on roundworms by biologists at UC San Diego has uncovered some important clues to finally answering that question. In a paper published in this week's early online issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe, the researchers discovered that intestinal cells in the roundworm C. elegans, which are similar in structure to those in humans, ...

Whitbread Plc. Brings Over GBP1.7 Million to Llanelli

2012-04-13
Whitbread Plc. has opened a brand new Premier Inn hotel in Llanelli. The property will contribute over GBP1.7 million to the local economy whilst creating 35 new jobs for Llanelli residents. This hotel is the second Premier Inn to open in the area due to an increased demand for rooms. The brand new 28 bedroom hotel is situated on Sandpiper Road in Llanelli and has been built adjacent to the existing Sandpiper Brewers Fayre restaurant. Guests will be able to experience all the local attractions Llanelli has to offer such Pembrey Country Park and the Millennium Costal ...

BUSM researchers identify key regulator of inflammatory response

2012-04-13
(Boston) – Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a gene that plays a key role in regulating inflammatory response and homeostasis. These findings could help lead to the development of innovative methods to reduce the inflammation associated with cancer, type 2 diabetes and other diseases. The study, which was led by Valentina Perissi, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry at BUSM, was done in collaboration with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at the University of California, San Diego. The results are published online ...

Billboard.com and Chevrolet Announce Finalists for 'Cruze-ing to Vegas' Battle of the Bands Competition

2012-04-13
Billboard.com and Chevrolet announced today that six finalists in the "Cruze-ing to Vegas" competition have won a road trip to Las Vegas and the chance to compete for the gig of a lifetime: a live performance at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, to be televised on ABC, 8 p.m. ET, on Sunday, May 20. The finalists were selected from a field of 18 up-and-coming young artists competing from six regions across the country. They are: Northwest: Savannah Outen, pop vocalist, Hillsboro, Oregon Southwest: Saints of Valory, rock, Austin, Texas Midwest: Take the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Majority-biased learning
In humans and chimpanzees knowledge is transmitted within a group by means of a majority principle