Have You Heard Of The Fascinating Washoe Project?

The Washoe project is both fascinating and moving. It involves a female chimpanzee named Washoe. She is considered the first non-human animal to learn American sign language. For many people, it was a revelation of nature.

Drs. Allen Gardner and Beatrix Gardner began leading this project on June 21, 1966, when Washoe was just two years old.

The chimpanzee was originally from West Africa, was captured there and brought to the United States by the country’s air force a year before the experiment began. Although intended for NASA experiments, Gardners adopted the chimpanzee and started the Washoe project.

The Washoe project

Allen and Beatrix Gardner already had experience working with monkeys before starting the Washoe project. Linguistics was already an area of ​​great interest, and the couple wanted to find out if it was possible for animals to learn human language.

They adopted two chimpanzees with the intention of teaching them to speak like humans. Both experiments failed, and the researchers concluded that the monkeys’ anatomy made articulated language impossible for them.

Then they also gave up teaching monkeys to talk. Then Washoe came into their lives, and they thought that sign language could be appropriate. After all, the hands of this species are very similar to human hands, which means that the probability of success was higher.

The education of Washoe

Gardners also believed that it was best to raise Washoe as if she were a human being. In other words, they would raise her as a little girl. They wanted to know if the chimpanzee was able to learn the language naturally as a human baby would.

Thus, Washoe had her own outfits and sat down to eat at the table with her supervisors. She also had her own personal belongings, such as toothbrushes and combs, as well as books and toys. When she was growing up, she actually settled in a caravan equipped with a living room, kitchen, dresser, refrigerator and bed.

Gardners handed Washoe over to Roger and Deborah Fouts when she was five years old. They have cared for her ever since, and maintained the same parameters to live by.

Intelligent beings

Washoe’s caregivers were required to use sign language and refrain from using spoken language. They did not want her to feel different from others. Instead, they wanted her to believe that signs were the natural form of communication. Little by little, she learned to communicate with people.

They did not use any conditioning methods so that Washoe could learn sign language. In other words, they did not reward her for her achievements as animal trainers usually do. Instead, she was expected to learn by imitation. And she did! The chimpanzee knew over 350 words / movements at the end of the experiment.

Washoe, of course, had a personality of his own. She enjoyed looking at books in her spare time. She also loved looking at shoe catalogs. In general, shoes caught her attention, and she had a good sense of humor.

The Washoe project is more than an experiment

Two episodes caught Gardner’s attention. In fact, none of them saw it coming. The first happened when one of them went his way to give birth to a baby who later died. Washoe did not like her absence.

When the woman returned, she told Washoe what had happened to her in sign language. The chimpanzee lowered his gaze and then traced with a finger a tear in the face of the grieving mother. This not only revealed that she had a high level of understanding, but that she understood emotions and was empathetic.

The second incident happened when they put her in front of a mirror and asked her who she saw. She replied, “Me, Washoe.” This means that she had self-awareness, which is a higher cognitive function.

Although the chimpanzee died in 2007, the project continues. Many who knew about the project have asked that primates be declared “non-human”. What do you think about this?