A study published in theProceedings of the Royal Society Bhas get hold that monkeys may possess metacognition , the power to know if they make love or do n’t sleep together something .
The research was carried out by the University of Rochester . They were investigating the human power to decline to answer a doubt if they know they do n’t know the answer . It was based around the idea of volubility , how easy something is to see , take heed , or perceive .
In the subject field , monkeys were establish a symbolic representation on a screen . They were then asked to find fault out that symbolization from an array of others and bet on how confident they were it was the same image .
They could bet up to three tokens , but if they bet the top amount and were wrong , they lost their betting total . If they bet just one token , they welcome the relic whether they were right or incorrect . add up up tokens take in the scalawag a treat .
It was found that the scamp were more potential to place a high bet when they were certain the symbolic representation was the same . This happened most often when the iterate symbolisation had a gamey demarcation . If the line was reduced , and the symbolization was less unmortgaged , then the imp made a broken bet , bespeak they were less sure of their answer .
“ Metacognition is a quick way of defecate a judgment about whether or not you know an answer , ” said Stephen Ferrigno , the study ’s wind writer , in astatement .
“ This is the same with the rascal . If they see the sampling picture well and it was easier for them to encode , they will be more positive in their answer and will count high . ”
It ’s thought that the research may help us understand how metacognition grow in young children . This can ultimately result to good or poor encyclopedism , by predicting which circumstances will activate the most metacognition .
“ human have a salmagundi of these metacognitive illusions – simulated impression about how they learn or recall good , ” said Jessica Cantlon , carbon monoxide - generator of the subject , in the statement .
“ Studying metacognition in non - human primates could give us a foothold for how to contemplate metacognition in immature children . ”