JOINT ATTENTION AND IMITATIVE LEARNING IN CHILDREN, CHIMPANZEES, AND ENCULTURATED CHIMPANZEES

In this study we compared the nature of the joint attentional interact ions that occurred as chimpanzees and human children engaged with a hu man experimenter (E). Subjects were three chimpanzees raised mostly wi th conspecifics (mother-reared), three chimpanzees raised in a human-l ike cultural environment (enculturated), and six 18-month-old human ch ildren. Of particular interest were possible differences between the t wo groups of chimpanzees that might have resulted from their differ en t ontogenetic histories. Observations were made as subjects participat ed in an imitative learning task involving a number of novel objects. Variables coded were such things as subjects' looks to the object, loo ks to E, the coordination of such looks in periods of joint engagement with E, and gestural attempts to direct E's attention or behavior (de claratives and imperatives). Results showed that enculturated chimpanz ees were most similar to human children in social interactions involvi ng objects, for example, in their attention to the object in complianc e with E's request, their joint attentional interactions during less s tructured periods, and their use of declarative gestures to direct E's attention to objects. They were not similar to children, but rather r esembled their mother-reared conspecifics, in the duration of their lo oks to E's face. A positive relation between subjects'joint attentiona l skills and their imitative learning skills was found for both chimpa nzee and human subjects. It is concluded that a human-like sociocultur al environment is an essential component in the development of human-l ike social-cognitive and joint attentional skills for chimpanzees, and perhaps for human beings as well.