The study examines the token exchange paradigm in a population of long-tailed macaques in Bali, Indonesia, providing insights into the cognitive underpinnings of economic behaviour in non-human primates, with findings suggesting a culturally maintained token economy.
The token exchange paradigm shows that monkeys and great apes are able to use objects as symbolic tools to request specific food rewards
Around the Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia, a large free-ranging population of long-tailed macaques spontaneously and routinely engage in token-mediated bartering interactions with humans. These interactions occur in two phases: after stealing inedible and more or less valuable objects from humans, the macaques appear to use them as tokens, by returning them to humans in exchange for food
The study examines the token exchange paradigm in a population of long-tailed macaques in Bali, Indonesia, providing insights into the cognitive underpinnings of economic behaviour in non-human primates, with findings suggesting a culturally maintained token economy.
The key findings of the study include age differences in robbing/bartering success, indicative of experiential learning, and clear behavioural associations between value-based token possession and quantity or quality of food rewards rejected and accepted by subadult and adult monkeys.
The token exchange paradigm shows that monkeys and great apes are able to use objects as symbolic tools to request specific food rewards
Around the Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia, a large free-ranging population of long-tailed macaques spontaneously and routinely engage in token-mediated bartering interactions with humans. These interactions occur in two phases: after stealing inedible and more or less valuable objects from humans, the macaques appear to use them as tokens, by returning them to humans in exchange for food
The objective of the study is to address the need for a more ecologically valid primate model of trading systems in humans by conducting field research on the token exchange paradigm in a free-ranging population of long-tailed macaques.
The study employed field observational and experimental methods to collect data on the token-mediated bartering interactions between the long-tailed macaques and humans.
The results of the study show that the long-tailed macaques are able to use objects as tokens to request specific food rewards, with age differences in robbing/bartering success and clear behavioural associations between value-based token possession and food rewards.
The study concludes that the observed token-mediated bartering interactions in the long-tailed macaques may be an example of a culturally maintained token economy in free-ranging animals, providing insights into the cognitive underpinnings of economic behaviour in non-human primates.
The study does not explicitly mention any limitations, but it notes that laboratory-based experimental situations tend to have limited ecological validity.
The study is part of a theme issue on the existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates, suggesting that further research is needed to explore this topic.
The study has implications for our understanding of the cognitive underpinnings of economic behaviour in non-human primates, which may inform the development of more effective conservation strategies and provide insights into the evolution of human economic behaviour.
The token exchange paradigm shows that monkeys