Rhesus monkeys show greater habituation to repeated computer-generated images than do orangutans

Humans and several other species of animals have demonstrated the ability to use familiarity to recognize that they have seen images before. In prior experiments, orangutans failed to show use of familiarity in memory tasks, even when other solutions were not available. We tested for evidence of habituation, a decreased response to repeated stimuli, as a behavioral indicator that repeated images were familiar to subjects. Monkeys and orangutans selected the smallest target out of four while computerized images were presented as distractors. Latency to complete the target-finding task was compared between conditions in which the distractor image was a familiar, repeating image, a novel, never-before-seen image, or no distractor was present. Rhesus macaques showed significant habituation, and significantly more habituation than orangutans, in each of four experiments. Orangutans showed statistically reliable habituation in only one of the four experiments. These results are consistent with previous research in which orangutans failed to demonstrate familiarity. Because we expect that familiarity and habituation are evolutionarily ancient memory processes, we struggle to explain these surprising, but consistent findings. Future research is needed to determine why orangutans respond to computerized images in this peculiar way.