Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Conformity to cultural norms of tool use in chimpanzees

Nature volume 437, pages 737–740 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Rich circumstantial evidence suggests that the extensive behavioural diversity recorded in wild great apes reflects a complexity of cultural variation unmatched by species other than our own1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. However, the capacity for cultural transmission assumed by this interpretation has remained difficult to test rigorously in the field, where the scope for controlled experimentation is limited13,14,15,16. Here we show that experimentally introduced technologies will spread within different ape communities. Unobserved by group mates, we first trained a high-ranking female from each of two groups of captive chimpanzees to adopt one of two different tool-use techniques for obtaining food from the same ‘Pan-pipe’ apparatus, then re-introduced each female to her respective group. All but two of 32 chimpanzees mastered the new technique under the influence of their local expert, whereas none did so in a third population lacking an expert. Most chimpanzees adopted the method seeded in their group, and these traditions continued to diverge over time. A subset of chimpanzees that discovered the alternative method nevertheless went on to match the predominant approach of their companions, showing a conformity bias that is regarded as a hallmark of human culture11.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Two techniques for gaining food from the ‘Pan-pipes’ apparatus.
Figure 2: Adoption of the Poke and Lift methods in two groups.

References

  1. Whiten, A. et al. Cultures in chimpanzees. Nature 399, 682–685 (1999)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Lefebvre, L. in The Evolution of Cognition (eds Heyes, C. & Huber, L.) 311–328 (MIT Press, Cambridge, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Rendell, L. & Whitehead, H. Cultures in whales and dolphins. Behav. Brain Sci. 24, 309–382 (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Whiten, A. et al. Charting cultural variation in chimpanzees. Behaviour 138, 1489–1525 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  5. de Waal, F. B. M. The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural Reflections of a Primatologist (Basic Books, New York, 2001)

    Google Scholar 

  6. van Schaik, C. P. et al. Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture. Science 299, 102–105 (2003)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fragaszy, D. M. & Perry, S. (eds) The Biology of Traditions: Models and Evidence (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2003)

  8. Whiten, A., Horner, V. & Marshall-Pescini, S. Cultural Panthropology. Evol. Anthropol. 12, 92–105 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. McGrew, W. C. The Cultured Chimpanzee: Reflections on Cultural Primatology (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2004)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Lonsdorf, E. V., Pusey, A. E. & Eberly, L. Sex differences in learning in chimpanzees. Nature 428, 715–716 (2004)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Richerson, P. J. & Boyd, R. Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution (Chicago Univ. Press, Chicago, 2005)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Whiten, A. The second inheritance system of chimpanzees and humans. Nature doi:10.1038/nature04023 (in the press)

  13. Matsuzawa, T. in Chimpanzee Cultures (eds Wrangham, R. W., McGrew, W. C., de Waal, F. B. M. & Heltne, P.) 351–370 (Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1994)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Galef, B. G. Jr. in The Biology of Traditions: Models and Evidence (eds Fragaszy, D. & Perry, S.) 159–186 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2003)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  15. Laland, K. N. & Hoppitt, W. Do animals have culture? Evol. Anthropol. 12, 150–159 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Biro, D. et al. Cultural innovation and transmission of tool use in wild chimpanzees: evidence from field experiments. Anim. Cogn. 6, 213–223 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Whiten, A., Horner, V., Litchfield, C. A. & Marshall-Pescini, S. How do apes ape? Learn. Behav. 32, 36–52 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Tomasello, M. The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition (Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1999)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Menzel, E. W. Jr, Davenport, R. K. & Rogers, C. M. Proto-cultural aspects of chimpanzee's responsiveness to novel objects. Folia Primatol. (Basel) 17, 161–170 (1972)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Laland, K. N. & Plotkin, H. C. Social learning and social transmission of digging for buried food in Norway rats. Anim. Learn. Behav. 18, 246–251 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Tonooka, R., Tomonaga, M. & Matsuzawa, T. Acquisition and transmission of tool making and use for drinking juice in a group of captive chimpanzees. Jap. Psychol. Res. 39, 253–265 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Huffman, M. A. & Hirata, S. An experimental study of leaf swallowing in captive chimpanzees: insights into the origin of a self-medicative behaviour and the role of social learning. Primates 45, 113–118 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Asch, S. E. Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychol. Monogr. 70, 1–70 (1956)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Sherif, M. & Murphy, G. The Psychology of Social Norms (Harper and Brother, New York, 1936)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Jacobs, R. C. & Campbell, D. T. The perpetuation of an arbitrary tradition through several generations of a laboratory microculture. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 62, 649–658 (1961)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kendal, R. L., Coolen, I. & Laland, K. N. The role of conformity in foraging when personal and social information conflict. Behav. Ecol. 15, 269–277 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Henrich, J. & McElreath, R. The evolution of cultural evolution. Evol. Anthropol 12, 123–135 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Matsuzawa, T., et al. in Primate Origins of Human Cognition and Behaviour (ed. Matsuzawa, T.) 557–574 (Springer-Verlag, Tokyo, 2001)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  29. Bruner, J. S. Nature and uses of immaturty. Am. Psychol. 27, 687–708 (1972)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Call, J. & Tomasello, M. in Reaching into Thought: The Minds of the Great Apes (eds Russon, A. E., Bard, K. A. & Parker, S. T.) 371–403 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1996)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This project was conducted at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center's Field Station and supported by a project grant from the BBSRC to A.W., by the National Institutes of Health, the Living Links Center of Emory University and the University of St Andrews. A.W. was supported by a Leverhulme Fellowship. We are grateful to M. Dindo, K. Bonnie, J. Rybak and Yerkes Field Station Engineering for logistical support. We also thank Yerkes' animal care and veterinary staff for maintaining the health of the chimpanzees. We are grateful to A. Burnley for construction of the Pan-pipes and to G. Brown, E. Flynn, K. Laland and A. Mesoudi for comments on manuscripts. The Yerkes Center is fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation for Laboratory Animal Care.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK

    Andrew Whiten & Victoria Horner

  2. Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Georgia, 30322, Atlanta, USA

    Victoria Horner & Frans B. M. de Waal

Authors
  1. Andrew Whiten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Victoria Horner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Frans B. M. de Waal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew Whiten.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Reprints and permissions information is available at npg.nature.com/reprintsandpermissions. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Methods

Procedures, coding and statistics details, additional to those in the main article. (DOC 27 kb)

Supplementary Table S1

Individual characteristics and rearing history. (DOC 72 kb)

Supplementary Table S2

Latency to success. For each individual, lists cumulative time from gaining access to the task, to first successful tool use. (DOC 33 kb)

Supplementary Table S3

Total frequencies of Poke and Lift. For each individual, lists total Poke and Lift acts in T1 and T2. (DOC 52 kb)

Supplementary Table S4

For each individual, lists the frequencies of Poke and Lift relevant to classification and statistics in Table 1 in the article. (DOC 33 kb)

Supplementary Video S1

Pan-pipe Lift technique by human, side-view. (MPG 2257 kb)

Supplementary Video S2

Pan-pipe Poke technique by human, side-view. (MPG 3322 kb)

Supplementary Video S3

Pan-pipe Lift technique by human, frontal (chimpanzee-eye) view. (MPG 1745 kb)

Supplementary Video S4

Pan-pipe Poke technique by human, frontal (chimpanzee-eye) view. (MPG 2286 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Whiten, A., Horner, V. & de Waal, F. Conformity to cultural norms of tool use in chimpanzees. Nature 437, 737–740 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04047

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04047

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing