Monkeys outperform humans in cognitive flexibility: Study

Monkeys exhibit more cognitive flexibility than humans when it comes to exploring more efficient options to solving a problem, according to a study.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, illustrates how humans can suffer from learned biases that can lead us to make inefficient decisions and miss opportunities. Cognitive flexibility is the brain's ability to transition from thinking about one concept to another.

"We are a unique species and have various ways in which we are exceptionally different from every other creature on the planet. But we're also sometimes really dumb," said Julia Watzek, a graduate student at Georgia State University in the US. The study illustrates how capuchin and rhesus macaque monkeys were significantly less susceptible than humans to "cognitive set" bias when presented a chance to switch to a more efficient option.

The results supported earlier studies with fellow primates, baboons and chimpanzees, who also showed a greater willingness to use optional shortcuts to earn a treat compared to humans who persisted in using a familiar learned strategy despite its relative inefficiency. "I think we're less and less surprised when primates outsmart humans sometimes," Watzek said. The test involved establishing a specific strategy to lead to a solution.

Through trial and error using a computer, monkeys and humans had to follow a pattern by pushing a striped square then a dotted square and then, when it appeared, a triangle to achieve the goal and receive a reward. For the humans, the reward was either a jingle or points to let them know they got it right. For the monkeys, it was a banana pellet. Wrong results got a brief timeout and no reward.