A RecenT StudY on Self-controL and IntelliGence in ChimpAnzees
A series of tests on a group of chimpanzees highlighted for the first time a correlation that had already been discovered in humans: the ability to delay gratification is more frequent in the most intelligent individuals. The result suggests a possible evolutionary role of willpower in general intelligence.
Self-control is a question of intelligence, in humans as in chimpanzees. This is what emerged from a study - the first of its kind on primates - published in "Current Biology" by Michael J. Beran and William D. Hopkins of Georgia State University.
The similarity between human behavior and animal behavior in this case is quite impressive. Beran and Hopkins went back to a historical experiment conducted at Stanford University in the 1960s. One child was confronted with an alternative between immediate gratification (eating a single marshmallow placed in front of him) or a delayed gratification (two marshmallow, but accessible later).
The Marshmallow Test
Similar studies conducted repeatedly in the following years have later discovered that children who succeed in postponing gratification are more likely to obtain the highest scores in general intelligence tests.
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Beran and Hopkins have found that the same is true even in chimpanzees: the higher the higher the ability to wait to get more.
The researchers subjected 40 animals to the Hybrid Delay Task, a test that allows you to count how often chimpanzees choose to wait for a more substantial reward instead of settling for the more limited but immediately available.
The proof also measures how much they manage to deal with the impatience of waiting, checking for example if there is a continuous temptation to yield to get the easier reward.
The same chimpanzees were also subjected to a series of general intelligence tests known as the Primate Cognitive Test Battery, able to evaluate different cognitive, individual and social factors, such as the ability to follow a gesture that indicates an object or an event of the surrounding environment.
The analysis of the data showed that the chimpanzees with the highest scores in the general intelligence tests were also those who were able to postpone gratification more. Intelligence was related not only to how often the animal could wait to get a more substantial reward, but also how long it could endure the wait.
One of the possible explanations of the phenomenon is that the most intelligent individuals were able to quickly understand how the test works and the possible implications of their choices, correctly assessing the probability of achieving greater gratification.
In conclusion, the authors point out in the article, the results support the idea that in these primates self-control and intelligence have a common neurobiological foundation.
"The fact that this correlation between self-control and intelligence exists in species other than human can demonstrate an evolutionary basis for the role of willpower in general intelligence," Beran explained. "In the future, research could clarify whether the correlation also exists in other primates or even in non-primates".
References for Further Reading
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Now Chimpanzees are in next generation of animals and previous of humans. They have self control of make himself decision. Great news @afifa. Namaste!!!
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Besides the willpower to postpone gratification, what other behavioral traits correlate with greater intelligence?
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