Self-control has been previously shown to be linked to intelligence in humans, chimpanzees and cuttlefish. The new results show that the link between intelligence and self-control exists across distantly related animal groups, suggesting it has evolved independently several times.
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE: A study has found that Eurasian jays can pass a version of the ‘marshmallow test’ – and those with the greatest self-control also score the highest on intelligence tests. This is the first evidence of a link between self-control and intelligence in birds. Self-control – the ability to resist temptation in favour of a better but delayed reward – is a vital skill that underpins effective decision-making and future planning.
Jays are members of the corvid family, often nicknamed the ‘feathered apes’ because they rival non-human primates in their cognitive abilities. Corvids hide, or ‘cache’, their food to save it for later. In other words, they need to delay immediate gratification to plan for future meals. The researchers think this may have driven the evolution of self-control in these birds…
To test the self-control of ten Eurasian jays, Garrulus glandarius, researchers designed an experiment inspired by the 1972 Stanford Marshmallow test – in which children were offered a choice between one marshmallow immediately, or two if they waited for a period of time. Instead of marshmallows, the jays were presented with mealworms, bread and cheese. Mealworms are a common favourite; bread and cheese come second but individuals vary in their preference for one over the other…
The researchers also presented the jays with five cognitive tasks that are commonly used to measure general intelligence. The birds that performed better in these tasks also managed to wait longer for the mealworm reward. This suggests that self-control is linked with intelligence in jays…
Self-control has been previously shown to be linked to intelligence in humans, chimpanzees and – in an earlier study by these researchers – in cuttlefish. The greater the intelligence, the greater the self-control… Research by other scientists has found that children taking the Stanford marshmallow test vary greatly in their self-control, and this ability is linked to their general intelligence. Children that can resist temptation for longer also get higher scores in a range of academic tasks…
The new results show that the link between intelligence and self-control exists across distantly related animal groups, suggesting it has evolved independently several times. Of all the corvids, jays in particular are vulnerable to having their caches stolen by other birds. Self-control also enables them to wait for the right moment to hide their food without being seen or heard. The results are published today in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. SOURCE…
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