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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooperative pulling paradigm | 3/10 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_pulling_paradigm | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:49:48.882099+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Overview === Although many animals retrieve rewards in their cooperative pulling tasks, the conclusions regarding cooperation are mixed and complex. Some researchers have attributed successful cooperation to random simultaneous action, or to the simple reactive behavior of pulling the rope when it moves. Many trials with capuchins, hyenas, parrots and rooks led to failure because one partner pulled without the other present, suggesting a lack of understanding of cooperation. A few researchers have offered the possible explanation that animals may understand cooperation to some extent but simply can not suppress the desire to have food they see. But there is evidence that some species do have an understanding of cooperation and perform intentional coordination to achieve a goal. Specifically, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, tamarins, capuchins, elephants, wolves, ravens, and kea appear to understand how cooperation works. Chimpanzees not only wait for a partner, but will actively solicit help when needed. They appear to recall previous outcomes to recruit the most effective partner. In a group setting, chimpanzees punish initial competitive behavior (taking food without pulling, displacing animals) such that eventually, after many trials, successful cooperation becomes the norm. Bonobos, which are social animals with higher tolerance levels, can outperform chimpanzees on some cooperative tasks. Elephants will wait for 45 seconds for a partner to arrive before they start a cooperative pulling task; wolves do the same for 10 seconds. Dogs raised as pets are also able to wait for a partner, albeit only for a few seconds; pack dogs on the other hand rarely succeed in cooperative pulling in any condition. Among birds, ravens are able to learn to wait after many trials, while kea have set the record in waiting for a partner, 65 seconds. Mere knowledge of the presence of a partner is not enough for success: when a barrier with a small hole was placed between two capuchins, obstructing the view of the partner's actions, the success rate dropped. Of those species tested in the delay condition, parrots, rooks, and otters failed. In 2008, Seed, Clayton and Emery said the study of the proximate mechanisms underpinning cooperation in animals was in its infancy, due in part to the poor performances of animals such as chimpanzees in early tests that did not take factors such as inter-individual tolerance into account. In 2006, Melis, Hare, and Tomasello had shown that the performance of chimpanzees in cooperative tasks was strongly influenced by levels of inter-individual tolerance. Several studies since have highlighted the fact that tolerance has a direct impact on cooperation success, as the more tolerant an animal is around food the better it performs. Subordinate animals seem simply not willing to risk being attacked by intolerant dominant animals, even if it means they will not obtain food either. In general, cooperation will not emerge if individuals can not share the spoils obtained through their joint effort. Temperament, whether an animal is bold or shy, has also been found to predict success. As for the evolution of cooperation, evidence from cooperative pulling experiments appears to support the theory that cooperation evolved multiple times independently. The fact that basic characteristics of cooperation are present in some mammals and some birds points to a case of convergent evolution. Within social animals, cooperation is suspected to be a cognitive adaptation. The ability of humans to cooperate is likely to have been inherited from an ancestor shared with at least chimpanzees and bonobos. The superior scale and range of human cooperation comes mainly from the ability to use language to exchange social information.
=== Primates ===
==== Chimpanzees ====
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are smart, social animals. In the wild they cooperate to hunt, dominate rival groups, and defend their territory. They have participated in many cooperative pulling experiments. The first ever cooperative pulling experiment involved captive chimpanzees. In the 1930s Crawford was a student and researcher at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. In 1937 he published a study of two young chimpanzees named Bula and Bimba pulling ropes attached to a box. The box was too heavy to be pulled in by just one ape. On top of the box was food. The two participants synchronized their pulling and were able to get the food reward in four to five short pulls. In a second part of the study, Crawford fed Bula so much prior to the test that she was no longer interested in the food reward. By poking her and pushing her hand towards the rope, Bimba tried to enlist her help in the task, with success. In a follow-up experiment with seven pairs of chimpanzees Crawford found none of the apes spontaneously cooperated. Only after extensive training were they able to work together to obtain food. They also failed to transfer this new skill to a slightly different task, in which the ropes were hanging from the ceiling.