At a Bonobo’s ‘Tea Party,’ Scientists Find Hints of Imagination
Nytimes reports that scientists have conducted the first study indicating that apes can play pretend, suggesting imagination is within apes’ cognitive potential and may be traceable to our common evolutionary ancestors. Researchers led by Christopher Krupenye and Amalia Bastos tested Kanzi, a male bonobo at the Ape Initiative, in three “tea party” scenarios.
In experiments where a researcher pretended to pour imaginary juice into cups and, in another set, transferred imaginary grapes between bowls, Kanzi pointed to the cup or bowl with the imagined contents more often than expected by chance and also reliably chose the cup with real juice when both real and imagined options were present.
The authors and other scientists said the results suggest apes can hold multiple views and distinguish real from imaginary, and they noted potential benefits similar to those in humans, such as rehearsing alternative futures.