Researchers report in Science that apes can imagine things and play pretend. The finding comes from three controlled experiments with Kanzi, a 43-year-old enculturated bonobo at Ape Initiative who has been reported to engage in pretense and can follow verbal prompts by pointing.
The first experiment placed two transparent cups and an empty transparent pitcher on a table. The experimenter pretended to pour juice into both cups, then pretended to empty one cup and asked, "Where's the juice?" Kanzi pointed to the cup that still contained pretend juice most of the time, even when the filled cup changed place. In a second test a real cup of juice was shown beside a pretend cup; when asked what he wanted, Kanzi pointed to the real juice almost every time. A third test used grapes and jars; Kanzi again indicated the pretend object.
Researchers say Kanzi was not perfect but was consistently correct. They plan to test other apes and animals and to explore other aspects of imagination, such as future thinking and understanding others' minds.
Difficult words
- imagine — to form a picture in the mind
- pretend — to act as if something is realpretended
- pretense — behavior that shows something is not real
- experiment — a controlled test to learn about somethingexperiments
- enculturated — raised or trained within human cultural settings
- indicate — to show or point to somethingindicated
- consistent — happening the same way over timeconsistently
- explore — to study something to learn more
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think other animals can play pretend like Kanzi? Why or why not?
- Why is it useful for researchers to test other apes and animals after the Kanzi experiments?
- Suggest one simple test researchers could use to check whether an ape can think about the future.
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