Scientists from the USA and Thailand conducted a study that demonstrated that elephants possess the ability for inhibitory control. It was observed that animals initially trained to pull their trunks toward a specific side of a box containing food eventually changed their behavior when the location of the opening shifted.
This process of behavioral change indicates that elephants are capable of suppressing their established habits. However, the authors note that the standard test used to assess impulse suppression proved not entirely suitable for studying elephants.
The results of this study were officially published in the journal PLoS One.