Question

Why did Hare and Tomasello (2000) decide to conduct alternative experiments with chimps to examine Theory of Mind? Why did Hare and Tomasello (2000) decide to conduct alternative experiments with chimps to examine Theory of Mind?

Answer 1

In 1978, Premack and Woodruff conducted a study on chimpanzees' theory of mind, based on the results of which, Tomasello and Hare were motivated to investigate the phenomena further. This is because the original study was soon followed by new research that questioned the results of the experiment, and other research on social learning suggesting that chimpanzees did not have an understanding of human goals emerged. Later in the 1990s, their studies on chimpanzees, Tomasello and Hare arrived at the conclusion that chimpanzees and other non-human primates do not understand the psychological states of others and therefore do not possess a theory of mind. The researchers found that chimpanzees can predict the actions of others in many situations based on past experience and cognitive adaptations but these reflect merely surface level understanding of others.