The results, published today in the journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provide the first evidence of a link between self-control and intelligence in a non-primate species.
To conduct the experiment, common cuttlefish (
Sepia officinalis) in tanks were presented with two foods they commonly eat, each in a separate Perspex chamber. In one chamber was a piece of king prawn, which they could eat immediately. In the other was a live grass shrimp, their preferred food, but they could only have the shrimp if they waited and didn’t eat the prawn.
A range of delays were tested, starting at 10 seconds and increasing by 10 seconds each time. All six cuttlefish in the experiment showed self-control, waiting for the grass shrimp and ignoring the king prawn. Those with the most self-control could wait 130 seconds for the grass shrimp to be released – an ability comparable with large-brained animals like chimpanzees.
Cuttlefish passed a version of the marshmallow test, a cognitive study for humans designed to test self-control businessinsider.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from businessinsider.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Cuttlefish show their intelligence by snubbing sub-standard snacks miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.