Skip to main content
Kyoto University » Primate Research Institute

Search form

CICASP | Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology

CICASP - Applications
  • About CICASP
  • Program
    • Course Details
    • Application
    • FAQ
    • Other Programs
    • Funding
    • Testimonials
    Stay
  • Research

    Departments and Staff

    • CICASP
    • Neuroscience
    • Cognitive Science
    • Cellular and Molecular Biology
    • Ecology and Social Behavior
    • Evolution and Phylogeny
    • Center for Human Evolution Modeling Research
    • Wildlife Research Center
    Stay
  • People
    • CICASP
    • Administration
    • Students
    • Alumni
    Stay
  • News & Media
    • Announcements
    • Articles
    • Events
    • Podcasts
    • Publications
    • Research
    Stay
  • Campus Life
    • Around Inuyama
    • Around Nagoya
    • Festivals
    • On Campus
    Stay
  • Contact
HomeNewsPublications
  • September 19th 2017
    Dr. Chris Whittier of Gorilla Doctors

    The PrimateCast #56: Talking applied wildlife veterinary medicine at IPS 2016 with Dr. Chris Whittier

    Listen
  • August 31st 2017
    Fabian Leendertz at the German Symposium on Zoonoses Research in 2014

    The PrimateCast #55: Talking wildlife disease at IPS 2016 with Dr. Fabian Leendertz

    Listen
  • May 15th 2017
    The PrimateCast's Andrew MacIntosh and Dr. Charlie Nunn at IPS 2016 in Chicago

    The PrimateCast #54: Talking Comparative Evolution, Infectious Disease and ... Sleep with Dr. Charlie Nunn

    Listen
  • May 13th 2017

    The PrimateCast #53: Talking Primate Behavioral Ecology with Dr. Karen Strier

    Listen
  • February 2nd 2017

    The PrimateCast #52: Conservation Voices from South Africa – Canned lion hunting with Dr. Andrew Venter

    Listen
  • October 16th 2016
    Airi Yamawaki on The PrimateCast

    The PrimateCast #51: Conservation Voices from Tokyo – Talking Ivory with Airi Yamawaki

    Listen
  • October 10th 2016

    The PrimateCast #50: Houseboat Amazon with Dr. Laura Marsh

    Listen
  • October 6th 2016

    The PrimateCast #49: Conservation Voices from Hawaii - IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016

    Listen
  • October 4th 2016
    Mac and Cecile go full PrimateCast

    The PrimateCast #48: Voices from Chicago - a look back at IPS/ASP 2016

    Listen
  • August 30th 2016
    The PrimateCast Talking Cold-blooded Cognition and Conservation with Dr. Anna Wilkinson

    The PrimateCast #47: Talking Cold-blooded Cognition and Conservation with Dr. Anna Wilkinson

    Listen
  • August 8th 2016
    Anna Nekaris

    The PrimateCast #46: Talking Loris Venom and Conservation with Dr. Anna Nekaris

    Listen
  • July 17th 2016
    The PrimateCast - An Interview with Dr. Ralph Adolphs

    The PrimateCast #45: An Interview with Dr. Ralph Adolphs

    Listen

The PrimateCast

The PrimateCast - Podcast
Follow the latest interviews with researchers in the world of primatology and beyond with The PrimateCast. Available directly from the website or on iTunes. Subscribe to our podcast rss feed, iTunes channel or listen online. View all Podcasts
Subscribe to The PrimateCastiTunes Channel

Topics

  • Announcements (19)
  • Articles (1)
  • Events (3)
  • Podcasts (57)
  • Publications (19)
  • Research (2)

Recent News

Time Travelling with Nerds
November 1st 2019
Read More >
Scientific Visual Storytelling Contest @ PWS12
October 3rd 2019
Read More >
The CICASP Team
CICASP celebrates 10 years
October 1st 2019
Read More >
View all News ›

Monthly Archive

  • November 2019 (1)
  • October 2019 (2)
  • August 2019 (1)
  • May 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (2)
  • June 2018 (1)

Follow Us

  • CICASP on Facebook
  • Follow CICASP on Twitter
  • CICASP on LinkedIn
  • CICASP on YouTube
  • CICASP RSS

Chimpanzees compete using game theory

June 9th 2014
Publications
Chimpanzees compete using game theory

A new study in Scientific Reports has shown that chimpanzees outperform humans in their ability to utilize game theory– a form of mathematics that deals with determining optimal strategies when faced with competitive situations.

The study, led by former CICASP research associate Christopher Flynn Martin and Professor Tetsuro Matsuzawa in collaboration with a team of behavioral economists at California Institute of Technology, investigated the strategic reasoning abilities of six chimpanzees at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute. The chimpanzees played in pairs a series of abstract competitive games, known as match/mismatch games, over interconnected computer touch-screens.

In addition to the chimpanzee participants, the researchers also tested a group of 16 students at Kyoto University and a group of 12 west African villagers in Bossou, Guinea. The zero-sum competitive games used in the study were designed to test the abilities of players to predict the behavior of their opponent, and to themselves evade prediction.

Why should chimpanzees care about math?

Game theorists have determined that there is optimal strategy that can be utilized to nullify one’s opponent’s chances of gaining an edge. This strategy is known as the Nash Equilibrium, named after the Nobel Prize–winning mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. The chimpanzees were shown to perform in line with the Nash equilibrium by creating sophisticated sequences of choices that matched the theoretical benchmark, while the human participants did not perform similarly.

What might explain such a result? One possibility, according the study, is that the dominance mediated social environment of chimpanzees may serve to make them expert tacticians with an intuitive sense of game theory. Humans, on the other hand, are more socially cooperative and egalitarian.

Click here to see the original article in Scientific Reports.

Related Content

Dr. Christopher Flynn Martin gets best poster award at IIAS

CICASP research associate takes home best poster award

Dr. Chris Martin - Research Scientist at Indianapolis Zoo

The PrimateCast #37: An Interview with Dr. Chris Martin

chimpanzee doing number task on touch panel computer

For chimpanzees, like humans, sequences progress from left to right

Matsuzawa with Chimpanzees Ai and Ayumu

CICASP Director Tetsuro Matsuzawa Recognized with Prestigious Award

  • Kyoto University
  • Kyoto University Primate Research Institute Banner
  • Kyoto Wildlife Research Institute Banner

Navigation

  • About CICASP
  • Program
  • Research
  • People
  • News & Media
  • Campus Life
  • Contact

Follow Us

  • CICASP on Facebook
  • Follow CICASP on Twitter
  • CICASP on LinkedIn
  • CICASP on YouTube
  • CICASP RSS
^Top

Contact Information

CICASP, 41-2, Kanrin,
Inuyama, Aichi,
484-8506 Japan
Phone: +81 (0)568-63-0284
Fax: +81 (0)568-61-1050
Email: cicasp [at] ml [dot] pri [dot] kyoto-u [dot] ac [dot] jp

© 2019 Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University