Date of Award
Summer 8-7-2012
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Sarah F. Brosnan
Abstract
Humans have a tendency to engage in economically irrational behaviors such as gambling, which typically leads to long-term financial losses. While there has been much research on human gambling behavior, relatively little work has been done to explore the evolutionary origins of this behavior. To examine the adaptive pressures that may have led to this seemingly irrational behavior in humans, nonhuman primates were tested to explore their reactions to gambling type scenarios. Several experiments based on traditional human economic experiments were adapted for use with a wider variety of primate species including chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys. This allowed for testing multiple species using similar methodologies in order to make more accurate comparisons of species abilities. This series of tasks helps to elucidate risky decision-making behavior in three primate species.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/3097996
Recommended Citation
Proctor, Darby, "Gambling and Decision-Making Among Primates: The Primate Gambling Task." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2012.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/3097996