Endowment Effect in Capuchin Monkeys
Author Information
Author(s): Lakshminaryanan Venkat, Keith Chen, Santos Laurie R
Primary Institution: Yale University
Hypothesis
Do capuchin monkeys exhibit an endowment effect similar to humans?
Conclusion
Capuchin monkeys show an endowment effect, preferring to keep food they own rather than trade it for equally preferred food.
Supporting Evidence
- Capuchins preferred to eat fruit discs when endowed with them and cereal when endowed with cereal.
- Capuchins traded significantly less than 50% of their endowed food for equally preferred food.
- Capuchins demonstrated loss aversion by avoiding trading for perceived losses.
Takeaway
Capuchin monkeys, like humans, tend to value things they own more than things they don't, even if they're the same.
Methodology
Capuchins were tested in a token-trading task to assess their preferences for owned versus non-owned food items.
Potential Biases
Potential biases in interpreting the monkeys' behavior as analogous to human biases.
Limitations
The study's findings may not generalize to all non-human primates or other contexts outside the experimental setup.
Participant Demographics
Five adult capuchin monkeys (two males and three females).
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.0001
Statistical Significance
p<0.0001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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