Researchers studying infants and chimpanzees have found that they might possess the ability to differentiate between an action and its purpose based on subtle body language.
Researchers studying infants and chimpanzees have found that they might possess the ability to differentiate between an action and its purpose based on subtle body language.
Humans are social beings and we are constantly evaluating other people’s actions to infer whether or not it was deliberate or accidental based on the context of the situation and body language of the other person.
To study the basic ability to tell the difference between an intentional action and one that seemed to be a mistake, researchers tested human infants by having them observe a person turning a light switch on with their forehead.
For one group of infants, the person’s hands were visible and unoccupied, and they imitated the action by using their forehead to turn the light on. For the second group however, the person held a blanket around her shoulders, and most of these infants would turn the light on with their hands.
In a similar experiment involving chimpanzees, researchers operated a variety of switches by either sitting on it, or moving it with their feet or forehead.
The chimpanzees also mimicked the researchers actions, and opted to use their hands rather than another body part if they saw that the operators hands were busy doing something else.
