The trainers then taught the dolphins to respond to the sign "create" by rewarding them only when they perform a novel behavior in response to the sign. First, the researchers trained a pair of animals to perform simultaneous behaviors in response to the sign "tandem." For example, the signs "tandem, jump" would ask a pair of dolphins to leap out of the water next to each other and at the same time-a common behavior in the wild. The dolphins also demonstrated an ability to coordinate social behavior-which Herman illustrated through videos. Dolphins responded correctly about 62 percent of the time-far above the chance level of 4 percent. ![]() To follow this command, dolphins must watch and process the entire "sentence" before taking action, Herman said. In this language, the five successive hand signals "left, basket, right, Frisbee, in" ask the dolphin to place the Frisbee on the right into the basket on the dolphin's left. They even learned to interpret an inverse grammar, showing language aptitude similar to that of bonobo chimpanzees, reported Herman. The dolphins rapidly mastered a vocabulary of hand signals related to objects such as "ball" and actions such as "spiral jump" and their combination into sentences. Dolphins even surpass man's closest relative, the chimpanzee, when asked to spontaneously follow the commands of a televised trainer-a measure of their ability to understand abstraction, Herman added.īeginning in the 1980s, Herman and his colleagues initiated an intensive training program with the dolphins, when the animals were about 2 years old. Herman, PhD, at APA's 2004 Annual Convention in Honolulu. But research shows that, despite the obvious physiological differences, the two species may share key cognitive abilities, such as the capability to master a symbolic language, coordinate social behaviors and demonstrate an awareness of one's own actions, said University of Hawaii psychology professor Louis M. ![]() With their sleek bodies and special sensory abilities, dolphins do not seem to have much in common at first glance with humans and other primates.
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