Can apes engage in imaginative play? Researchers conducted a fascinating experiment featuring a pretend tea party to explore this question. By the age of two, most children have already mastered the art of pretend play, transforming their rooms into fanciful castles and hosting elaborate make-believe tea parties. This remarkable ability to create scenarios from thin air might seem exclusive to humans, forming a cornerstone of our creativity that has given rise to various forms of art, music, and more.
For the first time, however, a groundbreaking study suggests that a captive ape may possess the capacity for imagination. "What’s truly thrilling about this research is that it indicates the origins of imaginative capacity may not be limited to our species alone," explained Christopher Krupenye, a co-author of the study from Johns Hopkins University.
Meet Kanzi, a bonobo raised in a laboratory setting who became adept at communicating with humans through graphic symbols. He demonstrated a unique ability to combine different symbols to convey new meanings and even learned to fashion simple stone tools. This prompted scientists to investigate whether Kanzi could engage in pretend play — acting as if something is real while recognizing that it isn’t. They had previously observed reports of female chimpanzees in the wild holding sticks like they were babies, as well as chimps in captivity dragging imaginary objects on the ground after playing with actual ones.
Imagination is inherently abstract, making it challenging to decipher what thoughts are occurring in the minds of these apes. They might merely be mimicking the behaviors of their human researchers or confusing imaginary objects with real ones.
To gain insights, researchers adapted a method used to study young children and orchestrated a juice party for Kanzi. They poured fictitious juice from a pitcher into two cups, then pretended to pour out the contents of one cup. When asked which cup he preferred, Kanzi consistently pointed to the cup still containing imaginary juice 68% of the time.
To further ensure that Kanzi wasn't misidentifying real juice for imaginary juice, the team conducted another test using actual juice. In this scenario, Kanzi selected the real juice over the pretend version nearly 80% of the time. "This indicates that he can genuinely distinguish between real juice and imaginary juice," noted Amalia Bastos, another co-author from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
A third experiment involving fake grapes placed in two jars yielded similarly encouraging results.
Nevertheless, not all scientists are convinced that Kanzi is engaging in pretend play in the same manner that humans do. According to Michael Tomasello, a comparative psychologist at Duke University, there is a distinction between envisioning juice being poured into a cup and sustaining the pretense that it is real. "To be persuaded of that, I would need to see Kanzi actually pretending to pour water into a container himself," Tomasello remarked in an email, having had no involvement in the study published recently in the journal Science.
Given that Kanzi was raised among humans, it remains difficult to determine whether his abilities are representative of all apes or are a product of his unique upbringing. Tragically, Kanzi passed away last year at the age of 44.
Many great ape species in their natural habitats are critically endangered, and additional research is essential to fully grasp the cognitive capabilities of these remarkable creatures. "Kanzi has paved the way for a wealth of future studies," Bastos stated, highlighting the significance of this research.
