The Fascinating Washoe Project
Tags: Communication, Education, Learning, Environment, Language

The Fascinating Washoe Project

More than an experiment, a revelation of nature.

Image by Pixabay

Project Washoe is both fascinating and moving. The experiment took place on June 21, 1966 and was directed by Drs. Allen Gardner and Beatrix Gardner.

A female chimpanzee named Washoe was considered the first non-human animal to learn to communicate by using the sign language and to show emotional connection.

The Washoe Project, more than an experiment, it’s a revelation of nature.

The Washoe Project

Allen and Beatrix Gardner already had experience working with apes before starting the Washoe Project. By then, linguistics had become an area of great interest and the Gardners wanted to find out if it was possible to teach human language to animals.

On two occasions, they had adopted chimpanzees to try to teach them to speak like humans. However, both attempts failed because the anatomy of the apes made articulated language impossible.

When Washoe came into their lives, they had given up on teaching apes to speak. Instead, they thought that sign language was the most appropriate.

Raising and educating Washoe

The Gardners believed it was best to educate Washoe as if she were human. In other words, they would give the same nurturing given to a child. They wanted to know if the chimp was capable of learning language naturally, like a human baby does.

Like so, Washoe had her own clothes, sat at the table, had her own personal items (such as, a toothbrush and combs), as well as books and toys.

Washoe, an intelligent being

All Washoe caregivers were required to use only sign language and refrain from using spoken language. They didn’t want her to feel different from others, implying that signing was the natural form of communication.

Gradually, she learned to communicate with humans.

In the end, the female chimpanzee knew over 350 words. Among the phrases that Washoe was able to learn, the following were recorded:

“Time to eat”

When she was asked, Who’s coming?, she answered, “Mrs. G”

When she was told to go outside, she immediately reacted saying “OK, but first clothes,” and she would put on her jacket.

and she would put on her jacket. When she was asked, What’s that? (while pointing at a shoe), she replied “a shoe”. Subsequently, when she was again asked about the color of the shoe, she answered “Black”.

All in all, Washoe had her own personality and a great sense of humor.

Image by Pixabay

More Than An Experiment

There were two events which caught the attention of the scientists and neither of them was foreseen in the Washoe Project:

1) Empathy

The first unexpected event took place when one of the chimpanzee’s caretakers happened to take a maternity leave to give birth to a baby who, unfortunately, was born without signs of life.

When the caregiver happened to return to work and meet Washoe, she used the sign language to break the bad news to the animal and explain the tragedy.

Surprisingly, the chimpanzee looked down and then traced a teardrop on the grieving mother’s face with her finger. Washoe not only had a high level of understanding, but she could differentiate between emotions and felt empathy.

2) Self-awareness

Next in order, when Washoe was put in front of a mirror and asked who was there, she answered “I, Washoe”. Scientists concluded that Washoe had a sense of self-awareness — a higher cognitive function.

The chimpanzee died in 1965. Many of those who knew about the project have requested that primates must be declared “non-human persons”.

Likewise, the fact that Washoe was able not only to communicate, but also to form close personal relationships with humans, indicates that he was emotionally sensitive and deserves moral status.

“Washoe was an emissary, bringing us a message of respect for nature,” — Mary Lee Jensvold

Work with Washoe and other primates in sign communication led to the founding of the Great Ape Project, which hopes to include non-human great apes (chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas) within the community of equals, guaranteeing them the basic moral and legal protection that only humans currently enjoy in order to place them in the moral category of “people” rather than private property.