Savage-Rumbaugh Study

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What was the aim of the study?
To study the language acquisition of pygmy chimpanzees compared with 'common' chimpanzees
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Describe the sample...
Two common chimpanzees (Sherman and Austin) who were aged 9 and 10 when the study ended. Two pygmy chimpanzees (Kanzi and Mulika)
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How long were the chimps studied for in total (not just the study) ?
10 years
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How long did the actual study last for?
17 months
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What is a lexigram?
Geometric symbols which represent words and brighten when touched
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What did Kanzi and Mulika use in the outdoor environment?
A 'pointing board' - a thin laminated board containing photographs of all of the computerised lexigrams
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How were lexigram utterances recorded?
By hand and entered into a computer at the end of the day
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Why were pointing boards not used outside by Austin and Sherman?
They were unsuccessful
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What did the informal tests involve?
In everyday situations: eg. if Kanzi was playing with some keys, he might be asked what they were
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What were the 4 formal tests?
Photograph to lexigram, Spoken word to photograph, Spoken word to lexigram, Synthesised speech to lexigram
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What did 'photograph to lexigram' involve?
Shown a photograph and asked to select from a set of three alternatives the correct lexigram for that photo
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What did 'spoken word to photograph' involve?
Listened to a spoken word and then asked to select the appropriate photo from a set of 3 alternatives
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What did 'spoken word to lexigram' involve?
Listened to a spoken word and asked to select the appropriate symbol on the lexigram board from a set of three
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What did 'synthesised speech to lexigram' involve?
Listened to spoken word produced, then 4 symbols were presented and the chimp had to select one
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How were utterances classified?
1st - correct/incorrect 2nd - spontaneous/imitated/structured
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When was a symbol classified as a member of Kanzi or Mulika's vocabulary?
Only once it had occurred spontaneously on 9 out of 10 occasions without prompting
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In what ways did the study have inter-rater reliability?
Language utterances were checked against a videotape recording, scoring was done by two observers (1 in realtime, the other from the tape)
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State three examples of quantitative data that was recorded?
1) Number of times the lexigram was used correctly 2) Number of single words used spontaneously 3) Number of combinations used spontaneously 4) Number of photographs Kanzi matched with a lexigram
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In the outdoor environment, how many named locations was food dispersed to?
17
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State five symbols Kanzi learnt before being trained...
Apple, Orange, Banana, Peanut, Austin
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What percentage of Kanzi's single word utterances were spontaneous?
80%
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What percentage of Mulika's single word utterances were spontaneous?
67%
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What percentage of Kanzi and Mulika's utterances were imitative?
15%
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How many combined symbol utterances did Kanzi use?
2540
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How many words did Kanzi acquire, and state one example
44 - "Ice water go"
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How many words did Mulika acquire?
37
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Which chimps were able to complete the photograph to lexigram test?
Kanzi, Mulika, Sherman and Austin
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Which chimps were able to complete the spoken word to photograph test?
Only Kanzi and Mulika
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Which chimps were able to complete the spoken to lexigram test?
Only Kanzi and Mulika
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Which chimps were able to complete the synthesised speech to lexigram test?
Kanzi and Mulika (Not carried out on Sherman and Austin)
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How long did it take Kanzi to learn the 17 food sites?
4 months
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What was the conclusion?
Pygmy chimpanzees exhibit symbolic and auditory perceptual skills that are distinctly different from those of common chimps
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Describe the sample...

Back

Two common chimpanzees (Sherman and Austin) who were aged 9 and 10 when the study ended. Two pygmy chimpanzees (Kanzi and Mulika)

Card 3

Front

How long were the chimps studied for in total (not just the study) ?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

How long did the actual study last for?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is a lexigram?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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