Babies and Chimps Compete in Mental Olympics

106 chimpanzees, 32 orangutans and 105 humans who were about 2.5 years old were put through “The Primate Cognition Test Battery,” which includes 16 tasks divided between physical and social cognition. Here’s how the authors of the study in the journal Science described the difference:

Physical cognition deals with inanimate objects and their spatial-temporal-causal relations, whereas social cognition deals with other animate beings and their intentional actions, perceptions, and knowledge.

Now brace yourselves, human readers: The babies did not trounce the apes. In fact, chimpanzees scored more correct responses in the tests on causality and just about tied on spatial skills, according to this chart.

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