Chimpanzees are capable of making rational decisions, much like humans, and can critically assess the quality of evidence when faced with choices, a new study suggests.

Published in the journal Science, the research explored how the primates responded to new information about a treat’s location, and their ability to update conclusions based on fresh clues.

For the experiment, the team presented chimpanzees with two boxes, one containing food.

They then offered evidence for one box to suggest it held the reward.

This evidence might involve shaking the box to make a sound, or directly showing its contents.

After the chimpanzee made an initial choice about where they thought the food was located, researchers then provided a new piece of evidence.

Chimps are capable of making rational decisions like humans are (AP)

The researchers found that when the first clue was stronger, the chimpanzees tended to stay with their original choice, but when the new evidence was stronger, they switched boxes.

The team also pointed out that when they revealed that one of the clues was misleading, such as that a box only contained a picture of food, the chimpanzee understood that the initial evidence was not valid.

Senior author of the study, Dr Esther Herrmann from the University of Portsmouth, said: “Our findings reveal that humans aren’t the only ones who make rational decisions based on evidence – chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, also weigh the strength and quality of the evidence before making decisions.”

Professor Josep Call, from the University of St Andrews and co-author of the study which also involved Utrecht University in the Netherlands and University of California Berkeley, said: “This study opens a new avenue of research into the psychological mechanisms underlying decision-making in chimpanzees.

“Together with previous work on bargaining games, it contributes to portray chimpanzees as rational decision-makers.”