Ismail Hazime
Pronouns: He/Him
Research Mentor(s): Alexandra Rosati
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 6 – 4:40pm – 5:30 pm
Room: Breakout room 4
Authors: Ismail Hazime, Yiyun Huang, Alexandra Rosati
Presenter: 1
Abstract
Humans, from an early age, make predictions about the world around them and use unexpected events as special opportunities to learn. Decades of infant and non-human animal research has utilized the violation of expectation paradigm to probe what non-verbal minds think about the world around them. Only recently, a line of developmental research proposed that violation of expectation can act as a learning signal prompting subsequent learning and exploration. But do other primates share this ability to learn when their expectations are violated, and is the juvenile period special for this learning mechanism? We tested age-varying free ranging rhesus macaques (n = 88) at the Cayo Field Station, using a combination of violation of expectation paradigm and approach method on the same individuals. Monkeys watched two events with two distinct objects where one was expected and the other violated the object continuity principle. Immediately after, we presented the monkeys both objects and they were free to approach and engage with the objects. We expect that rhesus macaques would look longer at the unexpected event compared to the expected, and more importantly, would preferentially approach and explore the object that violated their expectations. If this is true, then just like humans do, rhesus macaques can use surprise as a learning signal and direct selective attention and exploration towards objects that violated their expectations.
Interdisciplinary, Social Sciences
