Can lemurs learn to deceive? A study in the black lemur (Eulemur macaco). 2006

Emilie Genty, and Jean-Jacques Roeder
Centre d'Ecologie, Physiologie & Ethologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Strasbourg, France.

Deceptive behavior in primates has been the focus of a number of studies. Nevertheless, such abilities have never been demonstrated in prosimians. The authors' goal was to analyze possible deception in lemurs according to a paradigm used with simians. Three black lemurs were trained to communicate about the location of a hidden reward with a cooperative trainer. Afterward, when a 2nd trainer and lemurs competed to gain access to the reward, each subject differentially adapted its learned behavior to the context. Their performances with the cooperative trainer remained stable while they showed various behavioral adjustments when faced to the competitive trainer: 1 subject refused to participate, another preferentially withheld information, and the 3rd sometimes pointed deceptively to obtain the reward.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007900 Lemur A genus of the family Lemuridae consisting of five species: L. catta (ring-tailed lemur), L. fulvus, L. macaco (acoumba or black lemur), L. mongoz (mongoose lemur), and L. variegatus (white lemur). Most members of this genus occur in forested areas on Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Lemurs
D008192 Deception The act of deceiving or the fact of being deceived. False Allegations,Lying,Hoax,Allegation, False,Allegations, False,False Allegation
D008297 Male Males
D009633 Nonverbal Communication Transmission of emotions, ideas, and attitudes between individuals in ways other than the spoken language. Haptic Communication,Non-Verbal Communication,Communication, Haptic,Communication, Non-Verbal,Communication, Nonverbal,Communications, Haptic,Communications, Non-Verbal,Haptic Communications,Non Verbal Communication,Non-Verbal Communications,Nonverbal Communications
D002755 Choice Behavior The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation. Approach Behavior,Approach Behaviors,Behavior, Approach,Behavior, Choice,Behaviors, Approach,Behaviors, Choice,Choice Behaviors
D003163 Competitive Behavior The direct struggle between individuals for environmental necessities or for a common goal. Behavior, Competitive,Behaviors, Competitive,Competitive Behaviors
D003210 Concept Formation A cognitive process involving the formation of ideas generalized from the knowledge of qualities, aspects, and relations of objects. Concept Acquisition,Concept Learning,Conceptualization,Acquisition, Concept,Acquisitions, Concept,Concept Acquisitions,Formation, Concept,Learning, Concept
D004193 Discrimination Learning Learning that is manifested in the ability to respond differentially to various stimuli. Discriminative Learning,Discrimination Learnings,Discriminative Learnings,Learning, Discrimination,Learning, Discriminative
D005260 Female Females
D000223 Adaptation, Psychological A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed). Behavior, Adaptive,Healthy Adaptation,Positive Adaptation,Psychological Recovery,Adaptation, Psychologic,Adjustment,Psychological Adaptation,Adaptation, Healthy,Adaptation, Positive,Adaptive Behavior,Adaptive Behaviors,Healthy Adaptations,Positive Adaptations,Psychologic Adaptation,Psychological Recoveries,Recovery, Psychological

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