Flexibility in the Use of Requesting Gestures in Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

Abstract

Three squirrel monkeys, trained to make a requesting gesture, were tested in the presence of a human assistant whose visual attention varied across trials. When food was available in one dish and an empty dish was nearby, the monkeys pointed overwhelmingly toward the former, regardless of where the assistant was looking. Looking at the assistant while pointing ("monitoring") peaked when she looked at them and when she attempted to engage them in joint attention. When only one dish was present, the monkeys refrained from gesturing if it was empty and if no assistant was present. They gestured more when the assistant made eye contact with them. Furthermore, when the assistant's focus of attention switched from the dish or the ceiling to the monkeys, the latter resumed pointing and increased their monitoring of the assistant. This is the first demonstration of such flexible use of an intentionally communicative requesting gesture in New World monkeys.