Flexible information-seeking in chimpanzees

Humans can flexibly use metacognition to monitor their own knowledge and strategically acquire new information when needed. While humans can deploy these skills across a variety of contexts, most evidence for metacognition in animals has focused on simple situations, such as seeking out information about the location of food. Here, we examine the flexibility, breadth, and limits of this skill in chimpanzees. We tested semi-free-ranging chimpanzees on a novel task where they could seek information by standing up to peer into different containers. In Study 1, we tested n = 47 chimpanzees to assess if chimpanzees would spontaneously engage in information-seeking without prior experience, as well as to characterize individual variation in this propensity. We found that many chimpanzees engaged in information-seeking with minimal experience, and that younger chimpanzees and females were more likely to do so. In two subsequent studies, we then further tested chimpanzees who initially showed r..., , , # Data from: Flexible information-seeking in chimpanzees

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1rn](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1rn)

Study Authors: A.G. Rosati, E. Felsche, M.F. Cole, R. Atencia, & J. Rukundo

Contact: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

## Description of the data and file structure

This data set consists of three data files (.xlsx format) with trial-by-trial data for the three different experimental studies reported in this work.

For each file, there is a detailed key tab in the file defining each specific variable reported in the main data tab and explaining the codes for that variable.

As noted in the relevant variables, NAs in these files indicate no relevant score for that specific dependent variable (e.g., if the chimpanzee did not perform a certain response, there is no associated latency measure for their response), or that the specific independent variable coded in the column was not relevant for that trial. The specific files are:

*1....