[CogSci] [Webinar on March 16] CogIST Cognitive Webinar Series: Julia Fischer - Cognition in the Wild

[Cog IST]

Prof. Dr. Julia Fischer (German Primate Center) will be with us at the 12th
event of the Cognitive Webinar series.

Date: March 16th, Thursday

Time: 20:00 (GMT +3), 18:00 (CET), 12:00 PM (EDT)

In order to join the event, please fill the application form here:
https://forms.gle/T4ene4gmt3wpJ67n9


Cognition in the Wild

What do nonhuman primates know about each other and their social
environment, how do they allocate their attention, and what are the
functional consequences of social decisions in natural settings? Addressing
these questions is crucial to hone in on the co-evolution of cognition,
social behaviour and communication, and ultimately the evolution of
intelligence in the primate order. I will present results from field
experimental and observational studies on free-ranging baboons, which tap
into the cognitive abilities of these animals. Baboons are particularly
valuable in this context as different species reveal substantial variation
in social organization and degree of despotism. Field experiments revealed
considerable variation in the allocation of social attention: while the
competitive chacma baboons were highly sensitive to deviations from the
social order, the highly tolerant Guinea baboons revealed a confirmation
bias. This bias may be a result of the high gregariousness of the species,
which puts a premium on ignoring social noise. Variation in despotism
clearly impacted the use of signals to regulate social interactions. For
instance, male-male interactions in chacma baboons mostly comprised
dominance displays, while Guinea baboon males evolved elaborate greeting
rituals that serve to confirm group membership and test social bonds.
Strikingly, the structure of signal repertoires does not differ
substantially between different baboon species. In conclusion, the
motivational disposition to engage in affiliation or aggressiveness appears
to be more malleable during evolution than structural elements of the
behavioral repertoire; this insight is crucial for understanding the
dynamics of social evolution.


Faraut, L., & Fischer, J. (2019). How life in a tolerant society affects
the attention to social information in baboons. Animal Behaviour, 152,
11-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.04.004


Hammerschmidt, K., & Fischer, J. (2019). Baboon vocal repertoires and the
evolution of primate vocal diversity. Journal of Human Evolution, 126, 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.010


Treschnak, D., Zinner, D. & Fischer, J. (in press). Male Guinea baboons are
oblivious to their females’ whereabouts.
https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.20.500821

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