Evidence of means–end behavior in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)
Open accessAbstract
The present study explores to what extent Asian elephants show "means-end" behavior. We used captive Asian elephants (N = 2) to conduct four variations of the Piagetian "support" problem, which involves a goal object that is out of reach, but rests on a support within reach. In the first condition, elephants were simultaneously presented with two identical trays serving as the "support", with the bait on one tray and the other tray left empty. In the next two conditions, the bait was placed on one tray, while additional bait was placed beside the other tray. In the last condition, both trays contained bait, but one of the trays had a small gap which prevented the elephants from reaching the reward. Subjects were required to choose and pull either tray with their trunk and to obtain the bait (i.e. goal). Results showed that one elephant performed all of the support problems significantly above chance after several sessions, suggesting that the elephant was capable of understanding that pulling the tray was the "means" for achieving the "end" of obtaining the bait. This study showed that elephants show means-end behavior when subjected to a Piagetian "support" task, and indicates that such goal-directed behavior occurs in species other than primates.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In captivity, both Asian and African savanna elephants show a potential means-end understanding for the use of a tray when attempting to obtain out of reach food items; when presented with a choice of a tray with food on it (but out of reach) and a tray with food next to it, they chose to pull the tray with food on it more often, to successfully obtain the food.
“In captivity, both Asian and African savanna elephants show a potential means-end understanding for the use of a tray when attempting to obtain out of reach food items; when presented with a choice of a tray with food on it (but out of reach) and a tray with food next to it, they chose to pull the tray with food on it more often, to successfully obtain the food (Highfill et al., 2016, 2018; IrieS”
From Do elephants really never forget? What we know about elephant memory and a call for further investigation (2025) · cites this paper as Irie-Sugimoto et al., 2008
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The origins of intelligence in children.
Piaget, J. (1952) · doi:10.1037/11494-000 · Cited by 10,687 · see citing works
EVOLUTION OF THE BRAIN AND INTELLIGENCE
Radinsky, L., & Jerison, H. J. (1975) · Evolution · doi:10.2307/2407154 · Cited by 1,982 · see citing works
Self-recognition in an Asian elephant
Plotnik, J. M., de Waal, F. B. M., & Reiss, D. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0608062103 · Cited by 709 · see citing works
Folk Physics for Apes: The Chimpanzee’s Theory of How the World Works
(2003) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/01.nmd.0000106127.32329.d1 · Cited by 534 · see citing works
Unusually extensive networks of vocal recognition in African elephants
McComb, K., Moss, C., Sayialel, S., & Baker, L. (2000) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1406 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Children's strategies: contemporary views of cognitive development
(1991) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.28-4178 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
(2013) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203771648 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Large brains and cognition: Where do elephants fit in?
Hart, B. L., Hart, L. A., & Pinter-Wollman, N. (2008) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.05.012 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Development of means–end behavior in young infants: Pulling a support to retrieve a distant object.
Willatts, P. (1999) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.35.3.651 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
HAUSER, M. D., Kralik, J. D., & Botto‐Mahan, C. (1999) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1006/anbe.1998.1032 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Testing Problem Solving in Ravens: String‐Pulling to Reach Food
Heinrich, B., & Bugnyar, T. (2005) · Ethology · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2005.01133.x · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Increase of Learning Capability with Increase of Brain-Size
Rensch, B. (1956) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/281911 · Cited by 147 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Furthermore, elephants easily learn to understand various sorts of commands that are verbally expressed by circus trainers and jungle dwellers (e.g. Rensch 1956, 1957).”
BackgroundOsthaus, B., Lea, S. E. G., & Slater, A. M. (2004) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-004-0230-2 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Cognitive behaviour in Asian elephants: use and modification of branches for fly switching
Hart, B. L., Hart, L. A., McCoy, M., & Sarath, C. R. (2001) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1815 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Povinelli, D. J. (1989) · Journal of comparative psychology · doi:10.1037/0735-7036.103.2.122 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Animal cognition: an introduction to modern comparative psychology
(1997) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.34-4786 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
The stage-IV infant's solution of problems requiring the use of supports
Willatts, P. (1984) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/s0163-6383(84)80053-3 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Gould, J. L., & Gould, C. G. (1994) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Rensch, B. (1957) · Scientific American · doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0257-44 · Cited by 70 · cited 4× · see citing works
“Furthermore, elephants easily learn to understand various sorts of commands that are verbally expressed by circus trainers and jungle dwellers (e.g. Rensch 1956, 1957).”
BackgroundInfluentialSantos, L. R., Rosati, A. G., Sproul, C., Spaulding, B., & HAUSER, M. D. (2005) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-004-0246-7 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Fly switching by Asian elephants: tool use to control parasites
Hart, B. L., & Hart, L. A. (1994) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1006/anbe.1994.1209 · Cited by 53 · cited 2× · see citing works
“T. Kobayashi NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Kyoto, Japan and captive Asian elephants use sticks as tools to fend oV Xies and to scratch their own bodies (e.g. Hart and Hart 1994).”
BackgroundMethodHAUSER, M. D., Santos, L. R., Spaepen, G. M., & Pearson, H. M. (2002) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1006/anbe.2002.3066 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Can wild common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) solve the parallel strings task?
Halsey, L. G., Bezerra, B. M., & Souto, A. (2006) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-006-0016-9 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
SIMULTANEOUS VISUAL DISCRIMINATION IN ASIAN ELEPHANTS
Nissani, M., Hoefler-Nissani, D., Lay, U. T., & Htun, U. W. (2005) · Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior · doi:10.1901/jeab.2005.34-04 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Mind the gap: means–end discrimination by pigeons
Schmidt, G. F., & Cook, R. G. (2006) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.06.010 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Do asian elephants (Elephas maximus) apply causal reasoning to tool-use tasks?
Nissani, M. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.32.1.91 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
The support problem: physical connection revisited
Povinelli, D. J., Reaux, J. E., Teall, L. A., & Giambrone, S. (2003) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198572190.003.0010 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Birds of a feather? Parrot and corvid cognition compared
Lambert, M., Jacobs, I. F., Osvath, M., & von Bayern, A. V. (2019) · Behaviour · doi:10.1163/1568539x-00003527 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Insightful problem solving in an Asian elephant
Foerder, P., Galloway, M., Barthel, T., Moore, D. E., & Reiss, D. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023251 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Elephant cognition in primate perspective
Byrne, R. W., Bates, L. A., & Moss, C. J. (2009) · Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews · doi:10.3819/ccbr.2009.40009 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Taylor, A. H., Knaebe, B., & Gray, R. D. (2012) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.1998 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Relative quantity judgment by Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)
Irie-Sugimoto, N., Kobayashi, T., Sato, T., & Hasegawa, T. (2009) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-008-0185-9 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Self-citationHopper, L. M. (2017) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.04.006 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Plotnik, J. M., de Waal, F. Β. Μ., Moore, D., & Reiss, D. (2009) · Zoo Biology · doi:10.1002/zoo.20257 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Müller, C. A., Riemer, S., Virányi, Z., Huber, L., & Range, F. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147753 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Dogs are able to solve a means-end task
Range, F., Hentrup, M., & Virányi, Z. (2011) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-011-0394-5 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Plotnik, J. M., & Jacobson, S. L. (2022) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101148 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Problematic animals in the zoo: the issue of charismatic megafauna
Hosey, G., Melfi, V., & Ward, S. J. (2020) · Problematic Wildlife II · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-42335-3_15 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Pigeons learn virtual patterned-string problems in a computerized touch screen environment
Wasserman, E. A., Nagasaka, Y., Castro, L., & Brzykcy, S. J. (2013) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-013-0608-0 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Cooperating elephants mitigate competition until the stakes get too high
Li, L.-L., Plotnik, J. M., Xia, S., Meaux, E., & Quan, R. (2021) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001391 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Elephant psychology: What we know and what we would like to know
Irie, N., & Hasegawa, T. (2009) · Japanese Psychological Research · doi:10.1111/j.1468-5884.2009.00404.x · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationThe importance of sensory perception in an elephant's cognitive world
Jacobson, S. L., & Plotnik, J. M. (2020) · Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews · doi:10.3819/ccbr.2020.150006 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Transfer of physical understanding in a non-tool-using parrot
van Horik, J. O., & Emery, N. J. (2016) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-016-1031-0 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Dogs learn to solve the support problem based on perceptual cues
Müller, C. A., Riemer, S., Virányi, Z., Huber, L., & Range, F. (2014) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-014-0739-y · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Capuchins (Cebus apella) can solve a means-end problem.
Yocom, A. M., & Boysen, S. T. (2010) · Journal of comparative psychology · doi:10.1037/a0019369 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Highfill, L. E., Spencer, J. M., Fad, O., & Arnold, A. M. (2016) · International Journal of Comparative Psychology · doi:10.46867/ijcp.2016.29.00.12 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Asian elephants acquire inaccessible food by blowing
Mizuno, K., Irie, N., Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M., & Kutsukake, N. (2016) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-015-0929-2 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Can Asian Elephants Use Water as a Tool in the Floating Object Task?
Barrett, L. P., & Benson-Amram, S. (2020) · Animal Behavior and Cognition · doi:10.26451/abc.07.03.04.2020 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“…tool-use: Hart & Hart, 1994; Hart et al., 2001; Mizuno et al., 2016; Wickler & Seibt, 1997; means-to-end problem solving: Highfill et al., 2016; Irie-Sugimoto et al., 2008; acoustic recognition and discrimination: McComb et al., 2000, 2014; odor discrimination: Bates et al., 2007 human cue…”
BackgroundMethodKöppen, J. R., Stuebing, S. L., Woodbury, M., Blackwell, A. A., Blankenship, P. A., Cheatwood, J. L., & Wallace, D. G. (2015) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.11.021 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Modulation of physical understanding by common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)
Yamazaki, Y., Iriki, A., & Watanabe, S. (2010) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-010-0351-8 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
A reversed-reward contingency task reveals causal knowledge in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Albiach‐Serrano, A., & Call, J. (2014) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-014-0749-9 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Nonhuman Animal Nations: Transforming Conservation into Wildlife Self-Determination
Rizzolo, J. B., & Bradshaw, G. A. (2019) · Society and Animals · doi:10.1163/15685306-00001679 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Hope, S. F., Willgohs, K. R., Dittakul, S., & Plotnik, J. M. (2025) · Learning & Behavior · doi:10.3758/s13420-024-00655-y · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Albiach‐Serrano, A., Sebastián‐Enesco, C., Seed, A. M., Colmenares, F., & Call, J. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2015.06.004 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Performance on a means-end task by African elephants (Loxondonta africana): A replication study
Highfill, L., Burns, M., Przystawik, K., & Vincen, J. (2018) · International Journal of Comparative Psychology · doi:10.46867/ijcp.2018.31.00.04 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Ribó, I. (2019) · Biosemiotics · doi:10.1007/s12304-019-09354-y · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Pizlo, Z. (2009) · The Journal of Problem Solving · doi:10.7771/1932-6246.1042 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Evolution of Cognitive Brains: Mammals
Roth, G., & Dicke, U. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-4-431-56559-8_6 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Insightful Problem Solving in an Asian Elephant
Foerder, P., Galloway, M., Barthel, T., Moore, D. E., & Reiss, D. (2012) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e598052013-054 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) recognise human visual attention from body and face orientation
Jim, H.-L., Yamamoto, S., Bansiddhi, P., & Plotnik, J. M. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-16994-3 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Albert, T. G., Schiel, N., & Souto, A. (2020) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-020-01392-1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
What Action Comprehension Tells Us About Meaning Interpretation
Hung, T.-W. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-4585-84-2_8 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Study of Hamadryas Baboons (Papio Hamadryas) Ability to Solve Object Manipulation Tasks
Евгеньевич, А. А., Chalyan, V. G., & Мейшвили, Н. В. (2015) · Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10517-015-2896-7 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Krasheninnikova, A. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1539 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Popperian animals and instrumental reasoning
Danón, L. (2025) · Philosophical Psychology · doi:10.1080/09515089.2025.2571444 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Molina, A. B. C., & Mimó, M. C. (2017) · Behaviour · doi:10.1163/1568539x-00003441 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Krasheninnikova, A. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1539-1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Object Permanence in Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)
Miller, D. M. (2019) · CUNY Academic Works (City University of New York)
Exploring the Social Minds of Elephants
Pirutinsky, E. A. K., & Plotnik, J. M. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108564113.020
(2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108564113.014
Foerder, P. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1317-1
Krasheninnikova, A. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_767-1
Krasheninnikova, A. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1539-2
Krasheninnikova, A. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_767
Foerder, P. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1317
Arvidsson, J. (2011) · KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
- Authors
- Irie-Sugimoto, N., Kobayashi, T., Sato, T., & Hasegawa, T.
- Affiliations
- NTT (Japan) (JP)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- ORCID
- Kobayashi, Tessei
- Venue
- Animal Cognition
- Published
- 2007-12-18
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 359-365
- ISSN
- 1435-9448 (ISSN-L)
- 1435-9456
- PMC
- PMC2668564
- OpenAlex
- W2131573123
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Animal Cognition (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Keywords
- Asian elephant, goal-directed behavior, tool use
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Concept Formation, Elephants, Female, Goals, Problem Solving, Comprehension, Tool Use Behavior
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
