"Unwilling" versus "unable": Understanding chimpanzees' restrictions in cognition and motivation.
Shinya Yamamoto
Full TextAbstract
Human uniqueness and its evolutionary basis are explored through a comparison between humans and our
closest evolutionary animals. With this approach, any behavior not demonstrated by non-human animals
is considered unique to humans. We often attribute human uniqueness to a highly sophisticated
cognitive ability that seemingly exists only in humans. However, even though non-human animals do
not demonstrate a certain behavior, it is too early to say that they cannot demonstrate it. In this
article, I introduce some examples in which chimpanzees have a cognitive basis for some social or
cultural behaviors but do not perform these in their everyday lives, which urges us to consider not
only cognitive restrictions but also motivational restrictions. I propose four hypotheses to explain
their inaction. This type of “growth allowance" of cognitive abilities may help animals survive when
they are challenged under a novel selective pressure during the exploration of a new environment.
Article Information
Yamamoto, S.(2021)"Unwilling" versus "unable": Understanding chimpanzees' restrictions in cognition and motivation. Psychologia
10.2117/psysoc.2021-B020