creators_name: Gouteux, S
creators_name: Thinus-Blanc, C
creators_name: Vauclair, J
type: journalp
datestamp: 2004-04-30
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:55:32
metadata_visibility: show
title: Rhesus monkeys use geometric and non geometric during a reorientation task
ispublished: pub
subjects: comp-psy
full_text_status: public
keywords: Geometric encoding; Spatial cognition; monkeys, modularity, spatial behavior


abstract: Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulata) were subjected to a place finding task in a rectangular room perfectly  homogeneous and without distinctive featural information. Results of Experiment 1 show that monkeys rely on the large-scale geometry of the room to retrieve a food reward. Experiments 2 and 3 indicate that subjects use also nongeometric information (colored wall) to reorient. Data of Experiments 4 and 5 suggest that monkeys do not use small angular cues but that they are sensitive to the size of the cues (Experiments 6, 7, and 8). Our findings strengthen the idea that a mechanism based on the geometry of the environment is at work in several mammalian species. In addition, the present data offer new perspectives on spatial cognition in animals that are phylogenetically close to humans. Specifically, the joint use of both geometric and landmark-based cues by rhesus monkeys tends to demonstrate that spatial processing became more flexible with evolution

date: 2001
date_type: published
publication: Journal of Experimental Psychology : General
volume: 130
pagerange: 505-519
refereed: TRUE
citation:   Gouteux, S and Thinus-Blanc, C and Vauclair, J  (2001) Rhesus monkeys use geometric and non geometric during a reorientation task.  [Journal (Paginated)]     
document_url: http://cogprints.org/3590/1/Gouteux_et_al_JEPGEN_01.pdf