Chimp discrimination is wrong...

[Jessiebanana]

Animal Cultural Bias

I would like to propose an argument against adaptive discrimination. We see imitation as the superior of the processes and I beg to ask, why? Is it that Chimps who emulate are more cognitively deficient and incapable of regular or wide spread imitation, or are chimps simply wiser and using their energies to the best of their environment.

In the first paper by Carpenter we see praise for infants selectively copying behavior on the basis of goal. This result suggests that infants have some greater understanding of action and purpose, the same actions within different context yielded different results. Results we might say are more accurate or salient. How is the “reproduction of others goals hierarchically” vastly different from the causal dependent emulation seen in the Horner and Whiten paper. You could interpret the use of emulation to garner efficient results as the reward taking precedence over the process and therefore efficient social learning.

Horner and White raise the issue of enculturation. It was suggested that only apes who are raised by humans and enculturated could imitate. I think it is more an issue of frequency and demand. Bottom line is, would apes and chimps in the wild be better off if they imitated more? And, if chimps that are enculturated imitated, what does that say about their ability and the “special” niche humans have on it? I tend to lean towards the theory that apes and chimps are born with similar set up processes and systems as humans and the exercise of these processes determines the frequency with which they use them is what sets us apart in imitation and emulation. I think very few people would suggest that 3 and 4 year old children can’t make causal links and emulate, despite the results of the second paper. I think what it boils down to is what you reach for first and what you have experience using based on environment.

I think if we were to take humans and put them in the wild with chimps, perhaps they would emulate more, finding less need to support other systems such theory of mind and more need to support basic survival. It might also be interesting to look at other intelligent social creatures where imitation might be more salient that emulation. I would have to assume these animals either lived in a isolated community or were at the top of their food chain. Dolphins, maybe?…I know nothing about dolphins, but any excuse to work with dolphins is good .