Chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest living relatives, having diverged from a common ancestor with humans around six million years ago
Photo Credit: MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology
Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: EVApeCognition Dataset"
The Core Concept: The EVApeCognition dataset is an open-access repository compiling 18 years of experimental data on great ape behavior and cognition. It integrates 262 experimental datasets from 150 publications, encompassing studies of over 80 great apes to analyze how these animals think, learn, and perceive the world.
Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike traditional comparative psychology research, which is often limited by small sample sizes and restricted access, this centralized dataset standardizes numerous isolated, small-scale studies into a unified resource. This unprecedented scale enables scientists to overcome data fragmentation, cross-reference cognitive behaviors, and track long-term developmental patterns.
Major Frameworks/Components:
- Data Harmonization: Standardization of raw cognitive and behavioral data contributed by over 100 co-authors across multiple independent studies.
- Longitudinal Analysis Capabilities: Infrastructure that supports the evaluation of mental ability organization and individual cognitive differences over time.
- Open-Source Architecture: Broad access provided to the global scientific community via a dedicated, centralized GitHub repository.
Branch of Science: Comparative Psychology, Evolutionary Biology, Biological Anthropology, and Behavioral Sciences.
Future Application: The dataset will serve as a foundational tool for advanced research and educational models in the natural sciences, enabling researchers to explore complex developmental questions that are impossible to answer with single studies. It is also intended to inspire other institutions to adopt open-access, collaborative data-sharing practices.
Why It Matters: By systematically analyzing the cognitive architecture of chimpanzees and bonobos—humanity's closest living relatives—this comprehensive dataset provides crucial empirical insights into the evolutionary origins of human intelligence and strengthens the comparative understanding of cognitive development across species.
A pioneering project led by researchers from the University of Stirling and the Max Planck Institute has opened the door for new insights into the evolutionary origins of human intelligence, by compiling the largest dataset of great ape cognition available globally.
Studying great ape cognition, how the animals think, learn, and understand the world, is crucial for understanding the foundations of human cognitive abilities. However, work is often hindered by small sample sizes and restricted access to data.
Researchers at almost 100 institutions supported the creation of the Max Planck Institute-funded EVApeCognition Dataset – with hopes high that the resource could enhance scientific understanding of how human intelligence has evolved.
Psychologist Dr Alejandro Sanchez-Amaro from the University of Stirling’s Faculty of Natural Sciences led efforts to develop the open-access dataset, which is the largest and most comprehensive collection of experimental studies of great apes’ cognition and behavior available globally – bringing together 262 experimental datasets from 150 publications.
Dr Sanchez-Amaro explained: “In our field, ape participation per study is usually low. Most studies therefore focus on specific questions and tend to produce relatively small datasets.
“Compiling an open-access dataset involving over 80 different great apes participating in over 150 studies over an extended period of time is quite unique in comparative psychology.
As members of the Hominidae family, humans share a recent evolutionary history with other great apes. Chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest living relatives, having diverged from a common ancestor with humans around six million years ago.
We expect this dataset to be used for both research and educational purposes in psychology, biology, and disciplines related to human evolution. A testament to the uniqueness and value of our dataset is the collaboration of over 100 co-authors who contributed their data and helped us standardize it for future use.
The new resource brings together data from studies published between 2001 and 2020 at the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Centre – enabling researchers to examine how great apes’ thinking develops, how their mental abilities are organized, and how they differ from one individual to another, on an unprecedented scale.
The release of the dataset coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Centre, which was established by the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology and Leipzig Zoo.
Principal Investigator, Dr Daniel Haun, director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, said: “For science, the dataset’s significance lies in its scale, accessibility, and continuity.
“By bringing together numerous small-scale studies to create a standardized resource, EVApeCognition lays the groundwork for answering broader questions about cognition that were previously challenging to address. It also strengthens comparative research into the evolutionary roots of human intelligence.”
Data was gathered, standardized, and subject to a rigorous internal review before being published, with hopes high that it will inspire other institutions to adopt similar practices to help build a stronger collective understanding.
Dr Sanchez-Amaro added: “We hope that teachers and lecturers can use our dataset for a range of projects within the natural sciences.
“This resource will also allow researchers to track long‑term patterns and explore developmental questions that are impossible to answer with single studies.”
Research material: EVApeCognition Dataset
Published in journal: Scientific Data
Title: EVApeCognition: An 18-Year Dataset of Great Ape Cognition
Authors: Alejandro Sánchez-Amaro, Sonja J. Ebel van Wijk, Carin Molenaar, Akzira Abuova, Lizbeth Mujica-Manrique, Sarah M. Leisterer-Peoples, Bret Beheim, Luke Maurits, Anna Albiach-Serrano, Matthias Allritz, Nazli Altınok, Federica Amici, Alice MI Auersperg, Filippo Aureli, Elisa Bandini, Jochen Barth, Leïla Benziad, Bettina E. Bläsing, Manuel Bohn, Marie Bourjade, Juliane Bräuer, Marie-Hélène Broihanne, Sarah F. Brosnan, Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Thomas Bugnyar, David Buttelmann, Frances Buttelmann, Trix Cacchione, Malinda Carpenter, Fernando Colmenares, Catherine Crockford, Katherine A. Cronin, África de las Heras, Arianna De Marco, Sarah E. DeTroy, Valérie Dufour, Shona Duguid, Robin I. M. Dunbar, Johanna Eckert, Jan M. Engelmann, Joel Fagot, Julia Fischer, Sofia Ingrid Fredrika Forss, Martina Funk, György Gergely, Julia R. Greenberg, Johannes Großmann, Sebastian Grüneisen, Marta Halina, Daniel Hanus, Sarah R. Heilbronner, Christophe Heintz, Robert Hepach, Esther Herrmann, Satoshi Hirata, Alenka Hribar, Gabriele Janzen, Juliane Kaminski, Patricia Kanngiesser, Fumihiro Kano, Katharina C. Kirchhofer, Hagen Knofe, Kathrin S. Kopp, Christopher Krupenye, Isabelle Barbara Laumer, Stephen C. Levinson, Ulf Liszkowski, Héctor M. Manrique, Gema Martin-Ordas, Emma Suvi McEwen, Richard T. Moore, Enric Munar, Marcos Nadal, Christian Nawroth, Suska Nolte, Marie Pelé, Patrizia Potì, Hannes Rakoczy, Julia Riedel, Amélie Romain, Federico Rossano, Yvan I. Russell, Gloria Sabbatini, Marie Schäfer, Marina Scheumann, Martin Schmelz, Benjamin Schmid, Vanesa Schmitt, Carla Sebastián-Enesco, Amanda Madeleine Seed, Chikako Suda-King, Tibor Tauzin, Sebastian Tempelmann, Claudio Tennie, Valentina Truppa, Jana Uher, Amrisha Vaish, Edwin J.C. van Leeuwen, Elisabetta M. Visalberghi, Christoph J. Völter, Victoria Vonau, Claudia A. F. Wascher, Roman M. Wittig, Wouter Wolf, Michael Tomasello, Katja Liebal, Josep Call, and Daniel B. M. Haun
Source/Credit: University of Stirling
Reference Number: psy042126_01
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