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Does the Chimpanzee Have Theory of Mind?

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Definition

A landmark paper in the philosophy and science of animal minds. David Premack and Guy Woodruff (1978) describe a series of innovative experiments with an adult chimpanzee, Sarah, whom the authors conclude can attribute mental states to her trainers.

Introduction

Premack and Woodruff’s “Does the Chimpanzee Have a Theory of Mind?” was published in 1978. It is amongst the most anthologized papers in the wide variety of disciplines that constitute contemporary animal studies. In the article, a single adult chimpanzee named Sarah is the subject of a series of experiments designed to assess her ability to attribute mental states such as goals, intentions, knowledge, and ignorance to humans. This general ability is indicative of a theory of mind or mindreading– a capacity long thought to be unique to our species. Premack and Woodruff concluded that Sarah did, in fact, possess a theory of mind. While the author’s methods were widely respected, their conclusion was subject to...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY, USA

    Adam See

Authors
  1. Adam See
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Correspondence to Adam See .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

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See, A. (2016). Does the Chimpanzee Have Theory of Mind?. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3117-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3117-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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