Assessing the motivational value of infant video clips on chimpanzees through discrimination learning task

Kawaguchi, Y. ORCID: 0000-0002-6682-4964 and Tomonaga, M., 2024. Assessing the motivational value of infant video clips on chimpanzees through discrimination learning task. Developmental Psychobiology, 66 (2): e22470. ISSN 0012-1630

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Abstract

The motivational value of visual infant stimuli in humans is considered to encourage parental behavior. To explore the evolutionary roots of this preference for infants, we examined the reward value of conspecific infant videos compared to adult ones in nine chimpanzees. We employed a novel approach, a simultaneous discrimination task with differential sensory reinforcement. In Experiments 1 and 2, we tested if watching conspecific infant videos is more rewarding than watching adult ones. Participants were required to discriminate between two visual stimuli by a touch panel task. In video reward trials, a video clip featuring a chimpanzee infant followed a correct choice, while one featuring an adult followed an incorrect choice. However, the percentage of correct choices did not significantly differ from chance except in one chimpanzee, indicating that chimpanzees did not exhibit a preference for watching infant videos over those of adult. In Experiment 3, we tested if chimpanzees prefer conspecific videos over a blank screen; however, we did not find evidence either at a group level. These results suggest that the incentive salience of infant stimuli may not be universally compelling across species. Additionally, we discuss the limitations of the task using sensory reinforcement.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Developmental Psychobiology
Creators:	Kawaguchi, Y. and Tomonaga, M.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	February 2024
Volume:	66
Number:	2
ISSN:	0012-1630
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1002/dev.22470 DOI 1881072 Other
Rights:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Kawaguchi, Y., & Tomonaga, M. (2024). Assessing the motivational value of infant video clips on chimpanzees through discrimination learning task. Developmental Psychobiology, 66(2), Article e22470, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22470 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	09 May 2024 14:20
Last Modified:	09 May 2024 14:20
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/51418

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