Ocean creatures have successfully completed a cognitive test designed for human children. Discover who they are (with photos).

Back in 2021, researchers tested the intelligence of cephalopods. The results clearly indicated that we should not underestimate these animals. In fact, cephalopods successfully completed a test designed for human children, as reported by Science Alert.

During the testing, cuttlefish were given a new version of the marshmallow test. It's worth noting that this refers to the Stanford marshmallow experiment, which is quite simple. In the test, a child is placed in a room with a marshmallow and is told that if they can resist eating it for 15 minutes, they will receive an additional marshmallow and be allowed to eat both.

This ability to delay gratification, according to scientists, demonstrates cognitive skills such as future planning. Initially, researchers conducted this testing to study the development of human cognition, including trying to determine at what age a person is smart enough to postpone gratification for a better outcome in the future.

Since the test is relatively straightforward, scientists adapted it for animals. Unfortunately, researchers could not simply inform them about the potential reward for waiting, but they were able to teach the animals that better food would be available if they didn't eat everything at once. Previous studies had already shown that some primates, dogs, and corvids could pass the marshmallow test.

In 2020, scientists first tested common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). The results showed that cephalopods could refrain from eating crab meat in the morning as soon as they learned that they would receive much more shrimp in the evening.

It is believed that the ability of cephalopods to learn and adapt may have evolved to give cuttlefish an advantage in the harsh marine environment. However, according to lead author of the study, behavioral ecologist Alexandra Schnell from the University of Cambridge, it was difficult to determine in the 2020 experiment whether the change in behavior was a response to the availability of prey or demonstrated self-control.

Now, scientists have developed a new test to dispel any doubts. Six cuttlefish were placed in a special tank with two closed chambers featuring transparent doors so that the animals could see inside. These chambers contained snacks: one had a piece of raw royal shrimp, while the other held a live grass shrimp.

Symbols were also placed on the chamber doors that the cuttlefish were trained to recognize: a circle indicated the door would open immediately, a triangle meant it would open after a delay of 10 to 130 seconds. A square, used only in the control condition, indicated that the door remained closed indefinitely.

In the test condition, the shrimp was placed behind the open door, while the live shrimp was only accessible after a delay. If the cuttlefish grabbed the shrimp, it was immediately removed. Meanwhile, in the control group, the shrimp remained inaccessible behind the door with the square symbol, which did not open.

The results of the study indicate that all cuttlefish in the test condition chose to wait for their favorite food (the live shrimp), but did not bother to do so in the control group, where they could not access it.

Consequently, the researchers concluded that cuttlefish can exhibit self-control, but they still do not understand how and why this occurs.