Chimp is attracted to the face image

Chimp pay attention to the face image rather than a banana image. The recent series of tests shows that chimpanzees have the same visual and facial response as humans.

Masaki Tomonaga and Tomoko Imura from the Primate Animal Research Institute of Kyoto University, Japan, examined the impact of a series of images on chimp's reaction. Tomonaga said 'Everyone knows that face images are processed in a completely different way than other complex visual agents. Recent research on human image recognition shows that face is a special agent related to spatial visual attention. We have shown that chimpanzees also tend to pay attention and pay attention to the face image than other objects. '

Chimp focuses on looking at face images rather than banana images. (Photo: iStockphoto / Warwick Lister-Kaye)

Researchers give chimp a game to receive food rewards. In that chimpanzee approached a computer screen where an image would appear, then a prize signal. If the chimp touches the signal, it will be awarded. In the first series of tests, the image appears at half the screen, and then the prize signal appears on the same half or on the opposite half.The results showed that chimp reacts faster when the signal appears in the same half as the image. In the second series of tests, two images appeared on two halves of the screen, including an image of a chimp face. When the prize signal appears later on the top half of the face image, chimpanzees react faster than if the signal appears at the half of the screen of the other object. Thus, chimpanzees were attracted attention to half the screen with faces.

The test showed that the face is more attractive than the image of bananas and other objects such as flowers, houses or trains. This effect is significantly reduced when the face image is turned upside down, thus showing the face's specific shape to be as natural as it is to attract the attention. According to Tomonaga, 'Attention is also noted when chimpanzees are observed with a natural face. Thus, this effect is not limited to the homosexual image of chimpanzees. '

Journal reference:
1. Masaki Tomonaga and Tomoko Imura.Faces capture the visuospatial attention of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): evidence from a cueing experiment.Frontiers in Zoology, (in press) [link]