@article {309909, title = {Cognition and Evolution Cooperation in primates: Critical analysis of behavioural criteria}, journal = {Behavioural Processes}, volume = {35}, year = {1995}, pages = {101 - 111}, abstract = {

Concerning hunting in chimpanzees, cooperation has generally been attributed to the behaviour of two or more individuals acting together to achieve a common goal (Boesch and Boesch, 1989). The common goal is often considered as the concrete result of a common action by two or several individuals. Although this result could be used as a criterion for cooperation, it could also be an outcome due to chance. We suggest that the goal, viewed as a concrete benefit shared by the partners, is not a requisite of cooperation but rather a possible consequence of a common action largely submitted to social constraints. Individuals engaged in a cooperative task in order to solve a problem have to exchange information to adjust to each other{\textquoteright}s behaviour. However, evidence of communication between partners during simultaneous cooperation is rare. An experiment in which two chimpanzees each had to simultaneously pull a handle to get a fruit was performed. We analysed not only the concrete result of the partners{\textquoteright} activity but also what the individuals took into account before pulling a handle. We tried to specify what the chimpanzees learned by means of a series of logical propositions which we were able to confront the experimental results.

}, keywords = {Primates}, issn = {0376-6357}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0376-6357(95)00049-6}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0376635795000496}, author = {Chalmeau, R. and Gallo, A.} }