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34 - Innovation and Problem-Solving in Orangutans

from Part VI - Innovation and Problem-Solving

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2021

By
Anne E. Russon
Edited by
Allison B. Kaufman ,
Josep Call  and
James C. Kaufman
Allison B. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Josep Call
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Summary

This chapter reviews available evidence on cognitive contributions to orangutan innovation and problem-solving. Evidence derives from orangutans in three living conditions (wild, captive, rehabilitation), and as such includes spontaneous as well as experimentally elicited innovations. Reviewed are the range and quality of orangutans’ innovations and problem-solving, including instigating factors, cognitive complexity, and facilitating–inhibiting factors.

Keywords

orangutaninnovationinnovativenessimprovisationproblem-solvingcognitiongreat apesneophobianeophiliasociality
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Animal Cognition , pp. 733 - 754
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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