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Chimpanzees and bonobos distinguish between risk and ambiguity.

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Rosati&Hare_2010.pdf
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rosati&hare_2010-SOM.pdf
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Date
2011-02-23
Authors
Rosati, Alexandra G
Hare, Brian
Repository Usage Stats
194
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183
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Abstract
Although recent research has investigated animal decision-making under risk, little is known about how animals choose under conditions of ambiguity when they lack information about the available alternatives. Many models of choice behaviour assume that ambiguity does not impact decision-makers, but studies of humans suggest that people tend to be more averse to choosing ambiguous options than risky options with known probabilities. To illuminate the evolutionary roots of human economic behaviour, we examined whether our closest living relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), share this bias against ambiguity. Apes chose between a certain option that reliably provided an intermediately preferred food type, and a variable option that could vary in the probability that it provided a highly preferred food type. To examine the impact of ambiguity on ape decision-making, we interspersed trials in which chimpanzees and bonobos had no knowledge about the probabilities. Both species avoided the ambiguous option compared with their choices for a risky option, indicating that ambiguity aversion is shared by humans, bonobos and chimpanzees.
Type
Journal article
Subject
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Decision Making
Food Preferences
Pan paniscus
Pan troglodytes
Risk
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6948
Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1098/rsbl.2010.0927
Publication Info
Rosati, Alexandra G; & Hare, Brian (2011). Chimpanzees and bonobos distinguish between risk and ambiguity. Biol Lett, 7(1). pp. 15-18. 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0927. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6948.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Scholars@Duke

Hare

Brian Hare

Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
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