Question

In a study of the cognitive abilities of white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator), researchers neglected to control for the physical difficulty of the tasks they used to evaluate the monkeys. The cognitive abilities of monkeys given problems requiring little dexterity, such as sliding a panel to retrieve food, were judged by the same criteria as were those of monkeys given physically demanding problems, such as unscrewing a bottle and inserting a straw. The results of the study, therefore,____

Which choice most logically completes the text?
A. could suggest that there are differences in cognitive ability among the monkeys even though such differences may not actually exist.
B. are useful for identifying tasks that the monkeys lack the cognitive capacity to perform but not for identifying tasks that the monkeys can perform.
C. should not be taken as indicative of the cognitive abilities of any monkey species other than C. imitator.
D. reveal more about the monkeys' cognitive abilities when solving artificial problems than when solving problems encountered in the wild.

Answer 1

The results of the capuchin monkey study may inaccurately suggest cognitive differences due to a lack of control for task physical difficulty, confounding cognitive assessment. The correct answer is option A.

Step-by-step explanation:

The results of the study evaluating the cognitive abilities of white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator), where the researchers failed to account for the physical difficulty of the tasks, could suggest that there are differences in cognitive ability among the monkeys even though such differences may not actually exist.

This oversight could lead to conclusions about a monkey's cognitive capacity that are more reflective of their physical capabilities rather than their cognitive ones. Classic experiments with chimpanzees by Wolfgang Köhler and maze studies with rats by H.C. Blodgett highlight that cognitive abilities can be demonstrated through problem-solving.

Yet, without controlling for physical difficulty, assessing the cognitive skills in capuchin monkeys could be confounded, as observed in the relevance of manual dexterity mentioned and the language abilities of bonobos in studies by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh.