Study Reveals Bonobos' Ability to Play Make-Believe, Challenging Longheld Assumptions
Research published in the journal Science has provided groundbreaking evidence that bonobos possess a sophisticated form of imagination, one that allows them to engage in make-believe play. The study, conducted by Dr. Amalia Bastos and her team at the University of St Andrews, involved training a bonobo named Kanzi to perform various tasks that relied on his ability to understand pretend objects.
Kanzi was first taught to point to containers filled with juice in exchange for rewards, demonstrating an understanding of cause-and-effect relationships. Next, he was presented with two empty cups and asked to identify which one contained juice, even though it wasn't actually there. The results showed that Kanzi correctly identified the "full" cup 34 times out of 50 trials, indicating a clear understanding of the concept of pretend liquids.
To further test Kanzi's abilities, the researchers presented him with two cups containing either real or imaginary liquid. When one of the cups was pretended to be filled with juice and then emptied, Kanzi was able to distinguish between the tangible and intangible liquid in 14 out of 18 trials. This demonstrated that Kanzi was not simply following a learned response but genuinely understood the concept of pretend objects.
The study also revealed that Kanzi could accurately identify the location of an imaginary grape placed in one of two transparent containers. These results suggest that bonobos possess a sophisticated form of imagination, one that is comparable to that of humans.
The discovery challenges long-held assumptions about the uniqueness of human imagination and highlights the advanced cognitive abilities of our closest living relatives. The researchers argue that since we share this ability with bonobos, it's reasonable to expect that it dates back to our common ancestor, which would have been around 6-9 million years ago.
While further research is needed to confirm these findings in apes without Kanzi's unique rearing and learning environment, the study provides a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of imagination in humans. As one expert noted, "It would be more surprising if we found this ability in more distantly related species with more divergent social and cognitive abilities."
Research published in the journal Science has provided groundbreaking evidence that bonobos possess a sophisticated form of imagination, one that allows them to engage in make-believe play. The study, conducted by Dr. Amalia Bastos and her team at the University of St Andrews, involved training a bonobo named Kanzi to perform various tasks that relied on his ability to understand pretend objects.
Kanzi was first taught to point to containers filled with juice in exchange for rewards, demonstrating an understanding of cause-and-effect relationships. Next, he was presented with two empty cups and asked to identify which one contained juice, even though it wasn't actually there. The results showed that Kanzi correctly identified the "full" cup 34 times out of 50 trials, indicating a clear understanding of the concept of pretend liquids.
To further test Kanzi's abilities, the researchers presented him with two cups containing either real or imaginary liquid. When one of the cups was pretended to be filled with juice and then emptied, Kanzi was able to distinguish between the tangible and intangible liquid in 14 out of 18 trials. This demonstrated that Kanzi was not simply following a learned response but genuinely understood the concept of pretend objects.
The study also revealed that Kanzi could accurately identify the location of an imaginary grape placed in one of two transparent containers. These results suggest that bonobos possess a sophisticated form of imagination, one that is comparable to that of humans.
The discovery challenges long-held assumptions about the uniqueness of human imagination and highlights the advanced cognitive abilities of our closest living relatives. The researchers argue that since we share this ability with bonobos, it's reasonable to expect that it dates back to our common ancestor, which would have been around 6-9 million years ago.
While further research is needed to confirm these findings in apes without Kanzi's unique rearing and learning environment, the study provides a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of imagination in humans. As one expert noted, "It would be more surprising if we found this ability in more distantly related species with more divergent social and cognitive abilities."
just read about bonobos being able to play make-believe and it's wild... i mean, i knew they were smart but this is crazy. it makes sense though, they're like the unicorns of the animal kingdom or something. all that grooming and social behavior can't be a coincidence. maybe we can learn some new tricks from them? 
. I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out with a furry friend that can imagine playing make-believe? They're like, "Hey, let's pretend this cup is full of juice... and then I'll take it away!" 
And they totally get it right 34 times in a row! That's like me trying to convince my mom that the cat really does have six legs 
. Anyway, this study is like, whoa, our primate cousins are smarter than we thought 
. Can you imagine having an imaginary grape party with Kanzi and his friends? 
Kanzi is like, totally getting into pretend play 
! This study shows that bonobos are way more imaginative than I thought 
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. If bonobos can do it too, then maybe we're not so special after all 
. But seriously, it's awesome to see how intelligent and creative these animals are 
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their study showed they can distinguish between real & imaginary liquids 14/18 times , which is pretty wild . i mean , we've always thought of imagination as a uniquely human thing , but it looks like our primate cousins are on par with us 
. this study opens up some interesting questions about how humans evolved to have this ability . and can we imagine what other surprising abilities our ancient ancestors might've had ? 
.
it's like they're saying "hey, you think you're special with your imagination? well, we've got some news for you..." 
can you imagine what kind of amazing things our ancestors could've achieved if they had this ability too? 