Early emergence of metacognition in rhesus monkeys

Metacognition, or monitoring and controlling one’s knowledge, is a key feature of human cognition. Accumulating evidence shows that foundational forms of metacognition are already present in young infants and then scaffold later-emerging skills. While many animals exhibit cognitive processes relevant to metacognition, it is unclear if other species share the developmental trajectories found in human development. Here, we examine the emergence of metacognitive information-seeking in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). We presented a large sample of semi-free-ranging monkeys, ranging from juvenility to adulthood, with a one-shot task where they could seek information about a food reward by bending down to peer into a center vantage point in an array of tubes. In the hidden condition, information-seeking was necessary as no food was visible on the apparatus, whereas in the visible control condition information-seeking was not necessary to detect the location of the reward. Monkeys sought info..., , , # Data from: Early emergence of metacognition in rhesus monkeys Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.mgqnk9999](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mgqnk9999) Study Authors: Yiyun Huang & Alexandra G. Rosati Correspondence to: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]) ### **Description of the data** This data set consists of one file (.xlsx format) with the data from this study. The file includes a data tab with all the data from the task. This includes the demographic characteristics of monkeys that participated in the task (e.g., their age and sex); the experimental condition the monkey was assigned to (hidden versus visible baiting, and right or left side baiting); and their responses in the task (did they search; if they did search the apparatus where did they do so; and the latency and other qualities of their search). Blank values indicate that a particular response measure was not applicable to that monkey. Finally, the file includes key tab where all the variables reported in the main d...,元认知（metacognition）即对自身知识的监控与调控，是人类认知的核心特征之一。越来越多的研究证据表明，基础形式的元认知已在婴幼儿阶段出现，并为后续发展的认知技能提供支撑。尽管诸多动物展现出与元认知相关的认知过程，但目前尚不明确其他物种是否拥有与人类一致的元认知发展轨迹。本研究聚焦恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）的元认知性信息寻求行为的出现规律。我们招募了涵盖幼年到成年多个年龄段的大样本半自由放养恒河猴，开展单次任务实验：受试猴可通过俯身窥视一排试管中央的观察点，获取关于食物奖励位置的信息。在隐藏条件下，由于实验装置上无可见食物，受试猴需要主动寻求信息才能找到奖励；而在可见对照条件下，受试猴无需寻求信息即可直接确定奖励位置。受试猴会主动寻求信息…… # 数据来源：《恒河猴元认知的早期出现》 数据集DOI: [10.5061/dryad.mgqnk9999](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mgqnk9999) 研究作者：黄翊云（Yiyun Huang）与亚历山德拉·G·罗萨蒂（Alexandra G. Rosati） 通讯作者：[[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]) ### 数据集说明 本数据集仅包含1个.xlsx格式文件，收录本研究的全部实验数据。该文件包含一个数据工作表，存储任务的全部原始数据，内容涵盖参与实验的恒河猴的人口统计学特征（如年龄、性别）；受试猴被分配的实验条件（隐藏诱饵vs可见诱饵、左侧/右侧诱饵）；以及受试猴在任务中的行为反应（是否进行搜索、搜索位置、搜索潜伏期及其他搜索相关指标）。表格中的空白值代表某项反应指标对该受试猴不适用。此外，该文件还包含一个关键变量工作表，收录主论文中报告的全部变量……