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Westra E, Fitzpatrick S, Brosnan SF, Gruber T, Hobaiter C, Hopper LM, Kelly D, Krupenye C, Luncz LV, Theriault J, Andrews K. In search of animal normativity: a framework for studying social norms in non-human animals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1058-1074. [PMID: 38268182 PMCID: PMC11078603 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Social norms - rules governing which behaviours are deemed appropriate or inappropriate within a given community - are typically taken to be uniquely human. Recently, this position has been challenged by a number of philosophers, cognitive scientists, and ethologists, who have suggested that social norms may also be found in certain non-human animal communities. Such claims have elicited considerable scepticism from norm cognition researchers, who doubt that any non-human animals possess the psychological capacities necessary for normative cognition. However, there is little agreement among these researchers about what these psychological prerequisites are. This makes empirical study of animal social norms difficult, since it is not clear what we are looking for and thus what should count as behavioural evidence for the presence (or absence) of social norms in animals. To break this impasse, we offer an approach that moves beyond contested psychological criteria for social norms. This approach is inspired by the animal culture research program, which has made a similar shift away from heavily psychological definitions of 'culture' to become organised around a cluster of more empirically tractable concepts of culture. Here, we propose an analogous set of constructs built around the core notion of a normative regularity, which we define as a socially maintained pattern of behavioural conformity within a community. We suggest methods for studying potential normative regularities in wild and captive primates. We also discuss the broader scientific and philosophical implications of this research program with respect to questions of human uniqueness, animal welfare and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan Westra
- Department of Philosophy, Purdue University, 100 N. University Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47905, USA
| | - Simon Fitzpatrick
- Department of Philosophy, John Carroll University, 1 John Carroll Boulevard, University Heights, Ohio 44118, USA
| | - Sarah F. Brosnan
- Departments of Psychology & Philosophy, Neuroscience Institute, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, and the Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Georgia State University, Dept of Psychology, PO Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010 USA
| | - Thibaud Gruber
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, and Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Campus Biotech - University of Geneva, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, Fife KY16 9JP, Scotland
| | - Lydia M. Hopper
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 720 Rutland Ave, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA
| | - Daniel Kelly
- Department of Philosophy, Purdue University, 100 N. University Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47905, USA
| | - Christopher Krupenye
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Lydia V. Luncz
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jordan Theriault
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Suite 2301, 149 Thirteenth Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Kristin Andrews
- Department of Philosophy, York University, S448 Ross Building, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
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Pritchard AJ, Beisner BA, Nathman A, McCowan B. Social stability via management of natal males in captive rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta). J APPL ANIM WELF SCI 2024; 27:408-425. [PMID: 38221724 PMCID: PMC10957301 DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2024.2303679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Keystone individuals are expected to disproportionately contribute to group stability. For instance, rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) who police conflict contribute towards stability. Not all individuals' motivations align with mechanisms of group stability. In wild systems, males typically disperse at maturity and attempt to ascend via contest competition. In a captive system, dispersal is not naturally enabled - individuals attempt to ascend in their natal groups, which can be enabled by matrilineal kin potentially destabilizing group dynamics. We relocated select high-ranking natal males from five groups and assessed group stability before and after. We quantified hierarchical metrics at the individual and group level. After removal, we found significantly higher aggression against the established hierarchy (reversals), indicative of opportunistic attempts to change the hierarchy. Mixed-sex social signaling became more hierarchical, but the strength of this effect varied. Stable structure was not uniformly reached across the groups and alpha males did not all benefit. Indiscriminate natal male removal is an unreliable solution to group instability. Careful assessment of how natal males are embedded within their group is necessary to balance individual and group welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J. Pritchard
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
| | - Brianne A. Beisner
- Emory National Primate Research Center Field Station, Division of Animal Resources, Emory University, Lawrenceville, GA 30044 USA
| | - Amy Nathman
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
| | - Brenda McCowan
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
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Maffezzini N, Turner SP, Bolhuis JE, Arnott G, Camerlink I. Third-party intervention and post-conflict behaviour in agonistic encounters of pigs (Sus scrofa). Front Zool 2023; 20:28. [PMID: 37592308 PMCID: PMC10433626 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-023-00508-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Third-party interference in agonistic contests entails a deliberate intervention in an ongoing fight by a bystanding individual (third party) and may be followed by post-conflict social behaviour to provide support to a specific individual. The mechanisms behind third-party intervention are, however, still largely understudied. The aim of this study was to investigate third-party interference, with the predictions that (1) the interferer derives benefits from its action by winning a fight, (2) that patterns of intervention depend on familiarity, (3) that dyadic fights last longer than triadic fights, and (4) that interferers engage in non-agonistic social behaviours afterwards. Pre-pubertal pigs (Sus scrofa) (n = 384) were grouped with one familiar and four unfamiliar conspecifics (all non-kin) to elicit contests for dominance rank. Third-party interference was analysed for the first 30 min after grouping, along with the behaviour (nosing or aggression), contest duration, contest outcome, and interferer behaviour after the fight (post-conflict social behaviour). RESULTS Three types of interference were observed: non-agonistic involvement (nose contact) by the interferer in a dyadic fight; a triadic fight with each of three contestants fighting one opponent at a time; and triadic fights with two opponents jointly attacking the third one (two-against-one fights). The likelihood of a third-party intervention to occur did not depend on the presence of a familiar animal in the fight. However, once intervention was triggered, interferers attacked unfamiliar fight initiators more than familiar ones. Two-against-one fights lasted longer than other triadic fights and occurred more often when both initial contestants were females. Results of 110 triadic fights (out of 585 fights in total) revealed that interferers were more likely to win compared to the initial opponents at equal body weight. The most common post-conflict behaviour displayed by the interferer was agonistic behaviour towards another group member, independently of familiarity. CONCLUSIONS The general lack of discrimination for familiarity suggests interference is not driven by support to familiar individuals in pigs. The results show that intervening in an ongoing fight gives the interferer a high chance of contest success and may be a strategy that is beneficial to the interferer to increase its dominance status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Maffezzini
- Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Jastrzębiec, Poland
- Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Department, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), West Mains Rd., Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK
| | - Simon P Turner
- Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Department, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), West Mains Rd., Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK
| | - J Elizabeth Bolhuis
- Adaptation Physiology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Gareth Arnott
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK.
| | - Irene Camerlink
- Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Jastrzębiec, Poland
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Caselli M, Malaman B, Cordoni G, Guéry JP, Kok J, Demuru E, Norscia I. Not lost in translation: Changes in social dynamics in Bonobos after colony relocation and fusion with another group. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
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A comparative perspective on the human sense of justice. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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Gonzalez-Cabrera I. A lineage explanation of human normative guidance: the coadaptive model of instrumental rationality and shared intentionality. SYNTHESE 2022; 200:493. [PMID: 36438177 PMCID: PMC9681693 DOI: 10.1007/s11229-022-03925-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This paper aims to contribute to the existing literature on normative cognition by providing a lineage explanation of human social norm psychology. This approach builds upon theories of goal-directed behavioral control in the reinforcement learning and control literature, arguing that this form of control defines an important class of intentional normative mental states that are instrumental in nature. I defend the view that great ape capacities for instrumental reasoning and our capacity (or family of capacities) for shared intentionality coadapted to each other and argue that the evolution of this capacity has allowed the representation of social norms and the emergence of our capacity for normative guidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Gonzalez-Cabrera
- Institute of Philosophy, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 49, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Levy DA. Optimizing the social utility of judicial punishment: An evolutionary biology and neuroscience perspective. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:967090. [PMID: 36171873 PMCID: PMC9511021 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.967090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Punishment as a response to impairment of individual or group welfare may be found not only among humans but also among a wide range of social animals. In some cases, acts of punishment serve to increase social cooperation among conspecifics. Such phenomena motivate the search for the biological foundations of punishment among humans. Of special interest are cases of pro-social punishment of individuals harming others. Behavioral studies have shown that in economic games people punish exploiters even at a cost to their own welfare. Additionally, neuroimaging studies have reported activity during the planning of such punishment in brain areas involved in the anticipation of reward. Such findings hint that there is an evolutionarily honed basic drive to punish social offenders. I argue that the transfer of punishment authority from the individual to the group requires that social offenders be punished as a public good, even if such punishment is not effective as retribution or deterrent. Furthermore, the social need for punishment of offenders has implications for alternatives to incarceration, publicity of punishment, and judicial structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A. Levy
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University – IDC, Herzliya, Israel
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Papadaki K, Laliotis GP, Koutsouli P, Pafilis P, Bizelis I. Do sheep (
Ovis aries
) perform third‐party interventions? Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kallirroi Papadaki
- Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Department of Animal Science Agricultural University of Athens Athens Greece
| | - George P. Laliotis
- Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Department of Animal Science Agricultural University of Athens Athens Greece
| | - Panagiota Koutsouli
- Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Department of Animal Science Agricultural University of Athens Athens Greece
| | - Panayiotis Pafilis
- Section of Zoology – Marine Biology, Department of Biology National & Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens Greece
| | - Iosif Bizelis
- Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Department of Animal Science Agricultural University of Athens Athens Greece
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McCowan B, Vandeleest J, Balasubramaniam K, Hsieh F, Nathman A, Beisner B. Measuring dominance certainty and assessing its impact on individual and societal health in a nonhuman primate model: a network approach. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200438. [PMID: 35000448 PMCID: PMC8743881 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The notion of dominance is ubiquitous across the animal kingdom, wherein some species/groups such relationships are strictly hierarchical and others are not. Modern approaches for measuring dominance have emerged in recent years taking advantage of increased computational power. One such technique, named Percolation and Conductance (Perc), uses both direct and indirect information about the flow of dominance relationships to generate hierarchical rank order that makes no assumptions about the linearity of these relationships. It also provides a new metric, known as 'dominance certainty', which is a complimentary measure to dominance rank that assesses the degree of ambiguity of rank relationships at the individual, dyadic and group levels. In this focused review, we will (i) describe how Perc measures dominance rank while accounting for both nonlinear hierarchical structure as well as sparsity in data-here we also provide a metric of dominance certainty estimated by Perc, which can be used to compliment the information dominance rank supplies; (ii) summarize a series of studies by our research team reflecting the importance of 'dominance certainty' on individual and societal health in large captive rhesus macaque breeding groups; and (iii) provide some concluding remarks and suggestions for future directions for dominance hierarchy research. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda McCowan
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jessica Vandeleest
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Krishna Balasubramaniam
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Fushing Hsieh
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Amy Nathman
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Brianne Beisner
- Colony Management Department, Yerkes National Primate Research Center Field Station, Lawrenceville, GA, USA
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Palagi E, Bergman TJ. Bridging Captive and Wild Studies: Behavioral Plasticity and Social Complexity in Theropithecus gelada. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:3003. [PMID: 34680022 PMCID: PMC8532610 DOI: 10.3390/ani11103003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive ethology explores the ability of animals to flexibly adapt their behavior to rapid physical and social environment fluctuations. Although there is a historical dichotomy between field and captive studies, recently, a growing interest in questions that sit at the intersection of cognitive and adaptive perspectives has helped bridge this divide. By focusing on Theropithecus gelada, we discuss the three main reasons why this hybrid approach is extremely successful. First, captive and wild studies provide data at different social, spatial, and temporal scales that can be synthesized to give a fuller picture of the behavior. Secondly, apparently conflicting results from captive and wild settings are powerful tools to explore behavioral flexibility and latent behavioral tendencies. Third, the different settings provide ways of validating and exploring behaviors that are noticed in the other setting. Although we were able to bring together our captive and wild research to demonstrate these ideas, we could have obtained a more integrated vision on the proximate and ultimate gelada behavioral and cognitive strategies if we had considered this hybrid approach from the beginning. We hope that this manuscript stimulates scholars in designing their studies by taking into account the incredible potential of a complementary captive-wild research approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Palagi
- Unit of Ethology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Alessandro Volta 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Via Roma 79, Calci, 56011 Pisa, Italy
| | - Thore J. Bergman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 4054 East Hall 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Leonardo DE, Nogueira-Filho SLG, de Góes Maciel F, Biondo C, Mendl M, Nogueira SSDC. Third-party conflict interventions are kin biased in captive white-lipped peccaries (Mammalia, Tayassuidae). Behav Processes 2021; 193:104524. [PMID: 34592345 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Third-party interventions may regulate conflicts to reduce aggression and promote cohesion amongst group members, but are rarely documented in ungulates. The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) lives in mixed-sex herds of hundreds of individuals in Neotropical forests, which are likely to benefit from mechanisms that sustain social cohesiveness. We examined third-party conflict interventions between individuals in captive groups of white-lipped peccaries. During a period of 60 days, we recorded agonistic interactions and occurrences of third-party conflict interventions, and estimated the genetic relatedness between the individuals involved using multilocus microsatellite genotypes. Most third-party conflict interventions were by the dominant male of each group, resulting in conflict termination 100% of the time. Our results also revealed that white-lipped peccaries favour their closest relatives and that individuals showed lower levels of aggression towards kin than to non-kin, and interventions on behalf of kin were more frequent than on behalf of non-kin. Our findings support the idea that genetic relatedness is fundamental in both social structure and third-party conflict interventions in this species, allowing us to suggest that kin selection could have a key role in the evolution of social behaviour of white-lipped peccaries.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sérgio Luiz Gama Nogueira-Filho
- Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil; National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (INCT IN-TREE), Bahia, Brazil
| | - Fernanda de Góes Maciel
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH), Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Cibele Biondo
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH), Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Michael Mendl
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, UK
| | - Selene Siqueira da Cunha Nogueira
- Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil; National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (INCT IN-TREE), Bahia, Brazil.
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Boyd R, Mathew S. Arbitration supports reciprocity when there are frequent perception errors. Nat Hum Behav 2021; 5:596-603. [PMID: 33398142 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-01008-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Reciprocity is undermined by perception errors, mistakes that cause disagreement between interacting individuals about past behaviour. Strategies such as win-stay-lose-shift and generous tit-for-tat can re-establish cooperation following a perception error, but only when errors arise infrequently. We introduce arbitration tit-for-tat (ATFT), a strategy that uses third-party arbitration to align players' beliefs about what transpired when they disagree. We show that, when arbitration is moderately accurate, ATFT is a strong subgame-perfect equilibrium and is evolutionarily stable against a range of strategies that defect, cooperate, ignore arbitration or invoke arbitration unnecessarily. ATFT can persist when perception errors are frequent, arbitration is costly or arbitration is biased. The need for third parties to resolve perception errors could explain why reciprocity is rare in other animals despite opportunities for repeated interactions and why human reciprocity is embedded within culturally transmitted moral norms in which community monitoring plays a role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Boyd
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Sarah Mathew
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. .,Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
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Pang KH, Rowe AK, Sheeran LK, Xia DP, Sun L, Li JH. Sexual Interference Behaviors in Male Adult and Subadult Tibetan Macaques ( Macaca thibetana). Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11030663. [PMID: 33801483 PMCID: PMC7999075 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Sexual interference behaviors (interruption/harassment) by male nonhuman primates can lead copulating individuals to separate and is hypothetically a form of male–male competition for access to sexually receptive females. Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) provide an example of male sexual interference that can be used to discuss the sexual competition hypothesis. We found male sexual interference in this species showed significant seasonal variation. Age did not affect the proportion or type of interference behaviors that a male performed, but his social status did. Dominant males more often interrupted copulations. Subordinate males more often directed harassment behaviors toward dominant males, which reduced copulation duration, especially the post-ejaculatory phase of copulation. Our results suggest that sexual interference (interruption or harassment) may be a tactic to reduce the mating success of other males by either preventing ejaculation or reducing the duration of the post-ejaculatory phase, which is critical for sperm transport and, thus, reproductive success. Abstract Male nonhuman primate sexual interference, which includes copulation interruption and copulation harassment, has been related to reproductive success, but its significance has been challenging to test. Copulation interruption results in the termination of a copulation before ejaculation, whereas copulation harassment does not. We conducted this study using the all-occurrence behavior sampling method on sexual interference behaviors of seven adult and four subadult male Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) in mating and non-mating seasons at Mt. Huangshan, China, from August 2016 to May 2017. Our results showed that males’ individual proportion of copulation interruption and harassment was higher during the mating season than during the non-mating season. In addition, dominant males more often performed interruption, whereas subordinate males more often performed harassment. We found no difference in the individual proportion of copulation interruption or harassment between adult and subadult males. Adult and subadult males both directed copulation interruption and harassment more often toward the mating male than toward the mating female. Lastly, the post-ejaculation phase of copulation was shorter when copulation harassment occurred than when it did not. Our results suggest that sexual interference may be an important mating tactic that adult and subadult males use in male–male sexual competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kui-Hai Pang
- School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China;
| | - Amanda K. Rowe
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA;
| | - Lori K. Sheeran
- Department of Anthropology and Museum Studies, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA;
| | - Dong-Po Xia
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China;
| | - Lixing Sun
- Department of Biological Sciences, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA;
| | - Jin-Hua Li
- School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China;
- School of Life Sciences, Hefei Normal University, Hefei 230601, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-551-63861723
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Leveraging Social Learning to Enhance Captive Animal Care and Welfare. JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL GARDENS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/jzbg2010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
From ants to zebras, animals are influenced by the behavior of others. At the simplest level, social support can reduce neophobia, increasing animals’ exploration of novel spaces, foods, and other environmental stimuli. Animals can also learn new skills more quickly and more readily after observing others perform them. How then can we apply animals’ proclivity to socially learn to enhance their care and welfare in captive settings? Here, I review the ways in which animals (selectively) use social information, and propose tactics for leveraging that to refine the behavioral management of captive animals: to enhance socialization techniques, enrichment strategies, and training outcomes. It is also important to consider, however, that social learning does not always promote the uniform expression of new behaviors. There are differences in animals’ likelihood to seek out or use socially provided information, driven by characteristics such as species, rank, age, and personality. Additionally, social learning can result in inexact transmission or the transmission of undesirable behaviors. Thus, understanding when, how, and why animals use social information is key to developing effective strategies to improve how we care for animals across settings and, ultimately, enhance captive animal welfare.
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15
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Effects of indirect reputation and type of rearing on food choices in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02861-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Van Vugt M, von Rueden CR. From genes to minds to cultures: Evolutionary approaches to leadership. THE LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Beisner B, Braun N, Pósfai M, Vandeleest J, D’Souza R, McCowan B. A multiplex centrality metric for complex social networks: sex, social status, and family structure predict multiplex centrality in rhesus macaques. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8712. [PMID: 32211232 PMCID: PMC7081788 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Members of a society interact using a variety of social behaviors, giving rise to a multi-faceted and complex social life. For the study of animal behavior, quantifying this complexity is critical for understanding the impact of social life on animals' health and fitness. Multilayer network approaches, where each interaction type represents a different layer of the social network, have the potential to better capture this complexity than single layer approaches. Calculating individuals' centrality within a multilayer social network can reveal keystone individuals and more fully characterize social roles. However, existing measures of multilayer centrality do not account for differences in the dynamics and functionality across interaction layers. Here we validate a new method for quantifying multiplex centrality called consensus ranking by applying this method to multiple social groups of a well-studied nonhuman primate, the rhesus macaque. Consensus ranking can suitably handle the complexities of animal social life, such as networks with different properties (sparse vs. dense) and biological meanings (competitive vs. affiliative interactions). We examined whether individuals' attributes or socio-demographic factors (sex, age, dominance rank and certainty, matriline size, rearing history) were associated with multiplex centrality. Social networks were constructed for five interaction layers (i.e., aggression, status signaling, conflict policing, grooming and huddling) for seven social groups. Consensus ranks were calculated across these five layers and analyzed with respect to individual attributes and socio-demographic factors. Generalized linear mixed models showed that consensus ranking detected known social patterns in rhesus macaques, showing that multiplex centrality was greater in high-ranking males with high certainty of rank and females from the largest families. In addition, consensus ranks also showed that females from very small families and mother-reared (compared to nursery-reared) individuals were more central, showing that consideration of multiple social domains revealed individuals whose social centrality and importance might otherwise have been missed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianne Beisner
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Niklas Braun
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Márton Pósfai
- Department of Computer Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
- Complexity Sciences Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Jessica Vandeleest
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Raissa D’Souza
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
- Department of Computer Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
- Complexity Sciences Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, United States of America
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Villagrán M, Freitas‐de‐Melo A, Bartoš L, Ungerfeld R. Aggressive interactions among female, semi-captive pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) increase within the hierarchy and after short-term removal of the male. Aggress Behav 2020; 46:181-187. [PMID: 32048733 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Two trials were carried out to determine: (a) if there is a positive relation between the frequency of aggressive interactions among female pampas deer and their position within the hierarchy (HI), (b) if short-term removal of the male triggers an increase in the frequency of aggression, and (c) if the magnitude of this increase is related to the individual rank position of the female. Each of 19 breeding groups comprised one adult male and from four to six adult females. The HI was determined for each female and all aggressive interactions were recorded. These were recorded while the male was present (i.e., all of Trial 1 and the "with male" period in Trial 2) and after removal of the male (i.e., the "without male" period in Trial 2). The individual percentage change in the frequency of aggressive interactions after male removal was calculated. In Trial 1 the HI, the frequency of different types of aggressive interaction and the total of aggressive interactions were positively related (all: p < .001; General Linear Mixed Model [GLMM]). In Trial 2, the frequency of total aggressive interactions increased after male removal (F(1, 27) = 3.5; p < .001; GLMM). The individual percentage changes in aggressive interaction between periods were positively related to HI (F(6, 24) = 2.56; p = .05; GLMM). For female pampas deer maintained in breeding groups, we conclude that the frequency of aggressive interactions increases within the hierarchy. Aggression also increases after the short-term removal of the male, mainly among females of higher social status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matías Villagrán
- Departamento de BiocienciasFacultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República Montevideo Uruguay
| | - Aline Freitas‐de‐Melo
- Departamento de BiocienciasFacultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República Montevideo Uruguay
| | - Luděk Bartoš
- Department of EthologyInstitute of Animal Science Praha Czechia
- Department of Ethology and Companion Animal ScienceCzech University of Life Sciences Praha Czechia
| | - Rodolfo Ungerfeld
- Departamento de BiocienciasFacultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República Montevideo Uruguay
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Kanngiesser P, Rossano F, Frickel R, Tomm A, Tomasello M. Children, but not great apes, respect ownership. Dev Sci 2019; 23:e12842. [PMID: 31038808 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Access to and control of resources is a major source of costly conflicts. Animals, under some conditions, respect what others control and use (i.e. possession). Humans not only respect possession of resources, they also respect ownership. Ownership can be viewed as a cooperative arrangement, where individuals inhibit their tendency to take others' property on the condition that those others will do the same. We investigated to what degree great apes follow this principle, as compared to human children. We conducted two experiments, in which dyads of individuals could access the same food resources. The main test of respect for ownership was whether individuals would refrain from taking their partner's resources even when the partner could not immediately access and control them. Captive apes (N = 14 dyads) failed to respect their partner's claim on food resources and frequently monopolized the resources when given the opportunity. Human children (N = 14 dyads), tested with a similar apparatus and procedure, respected their partner's claim and made spontaneous verbal references to ownership. Such respect for the property of others highlights the uniquely cooperative nature of human ownership arrangements.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Federico Rossano
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Ramona Frickel
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anne Tomm
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Tomasello
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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20
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Koyama NF, Aureli F. Social network changes during space restriction in zoo chimpanzees. Primates 2019; 60:203-211. [PMID: 30019231 PMCID: PMC6459787 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0675-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Several studies across anthropoid species have demonstrated how primates respond to the increased risk of conflict during space restriction with various behavioral strategies. Three strategies have been proposed relating to tension regulation, conflict avoidance, and inhibition. Prior research supporting these strategies has focused on individual- and dyadic-level analyses, yet group-living animals live within a web of inter-individual connections. Here, for the first time, we used a network approach to investigate how social structure and individuals' connectedness change during space restriction. We collected grooming and aggression data during a 6-week control period and a 5-week period of space restriction in a large group of zoo chimpanzees. We compared network density and individual centrality measures (degree, eigenvector, and betweenness centrality) between these two periods using permutation tests. The density of the unidirectional grooming network was significantly lower during space restriction, indicating fewer grooming partners and a less cohesive network. This was mainly due to a reduction in females' grooming partners (degree) and an increase in females' betweenness centrality. We found no differences in the mutual grooming or aggression networks. Our findings are consistent with a conflict avoidance strategy and complement previous findings from the same dataset based on individual behavioral rates that supported a selective inhibition strategy. The results highlight the dynamic nature of social structure and its inherent flexibility to respond effectively to short-term changes in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola F Koyama
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
| | - Filippo Aureli
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
- Instituto de Neuroetologia, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico
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21
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Beisner BA, Wooddell LJ, Hannibal DL, Nathman A, McCowan B. High rates of aggression do not predict rates of trauma in captive groups of macaques. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2019; 212:82-89. [PMID: 31787789 PMCID: PMC6884145 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2019.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Socially inflicted traumas are a major concern for the management of captive groups of rhesus macaques. Rhesus macaques are the most commonly used nonhuman primate in biomedical research, and social housing is optimal for promoting psychological well-being. However, trauma is frequent due to a strong reliance on aggression to establish and maintain hierarchical relationships. We studied six captive groups of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) that underwent a variety of social perturbations and explored whether rates of aggression mapped onto rates of trauma using a fine-grained analysis that divided both aggression and trauma variables into specific, behaviorally-relevant categories (e.g., severe aggression by adult males relative to lacerations). Results did not show the expected positive relationship between aggression variables and trauma variables. Instead, rates of trauma (i.e., lacerations, moderate-severe trauma, total trauma) were negatively associated with the rate of impartial interventions (i.e., an intervention directed at both targets during an ongoing conflict) during baseline periods. Additionally, rates of trauma (i.e., lacerations, punctures, moderate-severe trauma, total trauma) were negatively associated with rates of total aggression following temporary knockouts of the individuals who commonly intervene impartially (i.e., conflict policers), and punctures and moderate-severe trauma were negatively associated with rates of severe aggression by adult males following permanent knockout of a high-ranked natal male. These results suggest that under homeostatic conditions, impartial interventions serve as a mechanism to reduce socially inflicted trauma but, following social manipulations of high-ranking males, an imbalance emerges. Our results underscore the importance of developing management strategies for rhesus macaque groups that promote internal social mechanisms of social stability such as maintaining conflict policing individuals (i.e., adult males) in social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianne A. Beisner
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
| | - Lauren J. Wooddell
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
| | - Darcy L. Hannibal
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
| | - Amy Nathman
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616 USA
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22
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Dahl A, Paulus M. From Interest to Obligation: The Gradual Development of Human Altruism. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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23
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Palagi E, Leone A, Demuru E, Ferrari PF. High-Ranking Geladas Protect and Comfort Others After Conflicts. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15291. [PMID: 30327491 PMCID: PMC6191458 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33548-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-conflict affiliation is a mechanism favored by natural selection to manage conflicts in animal groups thus avoiding group disruption. Triadic affiliation towards the victim can reduce the likelihood of redirection (benefits to third-parties) and protect and provide comfort to the victim by reducing its post-conflict anxiety (benefits to victims). Here, we test specific hypotheses on the potential functions of triadic affiliation in Theropithecus gelada, a primate species living in complex multi-level societies. Our results show that higher-ranking geladas provided more spontaneous triadic affiliation than lower-ranking subjects and that these contacts significantly reduced the likelihood of further aggression on the victim. Spontaneous triadic affiliation significantly reduced the victim's anxiety (measured by scratching), although it was not biased towards kin or friends. In conclusion, triadic affiliation in geladas seems to be a strategy available to high-ranking subjects to reduce the social tension generated by a conflict. Although this interpretation is the most parsimonious one, it cannot be totally excluded that third parties could also be affected by the negative emotional state of the victim thus increasing a third party's motivation to provide comfort. Therefore, the debate on the linkage between third-party affiliation and emotional contagion in monkeys remains to be resolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Palagi
- Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pisa, Via Roma 79, 56011, Calci - PISA, Italy.
| | - Alessia Leone
- Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pisa, Via Roma 79, 56011, Calci - PISA, Italy
| | - Elisa Demuru
- Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pisa, Via Roma 79, 56011, Calci - PISA, Italy
| | - Pier Francesco Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 67 Bd Pinel, 69675, Bron, Cedex, France.
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Abstract
Information about responses to death in nonhuman primates is important for evolutionary thanatology. This paper reviews the major causes of death in chimpanzees, and how these apes respond to cues related to dying and death. Topics covered include disease, human activities, predation, accidents and intra-species aggression and cannibalism. Chimpanzees also kill and sometimes eat other species. It is argued that, given their cognitive abilities, their experiences of death in conspecifics and other species are likely to equip chimpanzees with an understanding of death as cessation of function and irreversible. Whether they might understand that death is inevitable-including their own death, and biological causes of death is also discussed. As well as gathering more fundamental information about responses to dying and death, researchers should pay attention to possible cultural variations in how great apes deal with death.This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary thanatology: impacts of the dead on the living in humans and other animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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25
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van Schaik CP, Burkart JM. The moral capacity as a biological adaptation: A commentary on Tomasello. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2018.1486608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carel P. van Schaik
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Judith M. Burkart
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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26
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Kopp KS, Liebal K. Conflict resolution in socially housed Sumatran orangutans ( Pongo abelii). PeerJ 2018; 6:e5303. [PMID: 30083451 PMCID: PMC6074800 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Peaceful conflict resolution strategies have been identified as effective mechanisms for minimising the potential costs of group life in many gregarious species, especially in primates. The knowledge of conflict-management in orangutans, though, is still extremely limited. Given their semi-solitary lives in the wild, there seems to be barely a need for orangutans to apply conflict management strategies other than avoidance. However, because of the rapid loss of orangutan habitat due to deforestation, opportunities to prevent conflicts by dispersion are shrinking. Additionally, more and more orangutans are brought into rehabilitation centres where they are bound to live in close contact with conspecifics. This raises the questions of whether and how orangutans are able to cope with conflicts, which are inevitably connected with group life. METHODS Observational zoo-studies provide a valuable method to investigate such potential: in zoos, orangutans usually live in permanent groups and face the challenges of group life every day. Therefore, we observed a group of six socially-housed Sumatran orangutans at the Dortmund Zoo, Germany, both in their spacious outdoor enclosure in the summer and in the less spacious indoor enclosure in the winter. During 157.5 h of observation, we collected data on aggressive interactions, third-party interventions and post-conflict affiliations. We applied the post-conflict/matched-control observation (PC/MC) and the time rule method to investigate the occurrence of reconciliation and post-conflict third-party affiliations. RESULTS We recorded a total of 114 aggressive interactions (including conflicts in the context of weaning and of male sexual coercion). As expected, we found an increase of both open conflicts and peaceful conflict resolution under less spacious conditions. In accordance with previous reports, we observed interventions by initially uninvolved individuals. Whereas we found no clear evidence for post-conflict third-party affiliations, we were able to demonstrate the occurrence of reconciliation among orangutans. DISCUSSION Notwithstanding the small sample size and the explorative character of our study, we found evidence that orangutans possess a potential for prosocial conflict resolution. When living in groups and under conditions in which dispersion is no longer an option, orangutans are capable to flexibly apply strategies of conflict resolution to cease open conflicts and to repair the potential social damage of aggressive interactions. These strategies are similar to those of other great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin S. Kopp
- Department of Education and Psychology; Comparative Developmental Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katja Liebal
- Department of Education and Psychology; Comparative Developmental Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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27
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Gintis H, van Schaik C, Boehm C. Zoon politikon: The evolutionary origins of human socio-political systems. Behav Processes 2018; 161:17-30. [PMID: 29581024 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We deploy the most up-to-date evidence available in various behavioral fields in support of the following hypothesis: The emergence of bipedalism and cooperative breeding in the hominin line, together with environmental developments that made a diet of meat from large animals adaptive, as well as cultural innovations in the form of fire, cooking, and lethal weapons, created a niche for hominins in which there was a significant advantage to individuals with the ability to communicate and persuade in a moral context. These forces added a unique political dimension to human social life which, through gene-culture coevolution, became Homo ludens-Man, the game player-with the power to conserve and transform the social order. Homo sapiens became, in the words of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, a zoon politikon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herbert Gintis
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, United States.
| | - Carel van Schaik
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, United States
| | - Christopher Boehm
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, United States
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28
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Abstract
For the first time, chimpanzees have been observed using tools to clean the corpse of a deceased group member. A female chimpanzee sat down at the dead body of a young male, selected a firm stem of grass, and started to intently remove debris from his teeth. This report contributes novel behaviour to the chimpanzee’s ethogram, and highlights how crucial information for reconstructing the evolutionary origins of human mortuary practices may be missed by refraining from developing adequate observation techniques to capture non-human animals’ death responses.
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29
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Kanakogi Y, Inoue Y, Matsuda G, Butler D, Hiraki K, Myowa-Yamakoshi M. Preverbal infants affirm third-party interventions that protect victims from aggressors. Nat Hum Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1038/s41562-016-0037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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30
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Brosnan SF, Tone EB, Williams L. The Evolution of Social Anxiety. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-60576-0_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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31
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Bøggild T, Laustsen L. An intra-group perspective on leader preferences: Different risks of exploitation shape preferences for leader facial dominance. LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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32
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Jennings DJ, Boys RJ, Gammell MP. Investigating variation in third-party intervention behavior during a fallow deer (Dama dama) rut. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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33
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Abstract
Our species is routinely depicted as unique in its ability to achieve cooperation, whereas our closest relative, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), is often characterized as overly competitive. Human cooperation is assisted by the cost attached to competitive tendencies through enforcement mechanisms, such as punishment and partner choice. To examine if chimpanzees possess the same ability to mitigate competition, we set up a cooperative task in the presence of the entire group of 11 adults, which required two or three individuals to pull jointly to receive rewards. This open-group set-up provided ample opportunity for competition (e.g., freeloading, displacements) and aggression. Despite this unique set-up and initial competitiveness, cooperation prevailed in the end, being at least five times as common as competition. The chimpanzees performed 3,565 cooperative acts while using a variety of enforcement mechanisms to overcome competition and freeloading, as measured by (attempted) thefts of rewards. These mechanisms included direct protest by the target, third-party punishment in which dominant individuals intervened against freeloaders, and partner choice. There was a marked difference between freeloading and displacement; freeloading tended to elicit withdrawal and third-party interventions, whereas displacements were met with a higher rate of direct retaliation. Humans have shown similar responses in controlled experiments, suggesting shared mechanisms across the primates to mitigate competition for the sake of cooperation.
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34
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Glowacki L, von Rueden C. Leadership solves collective action problems in small-scale societies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:20150010. [PMID: 26503683 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Observation of leadership in small-scale societies offers unique insights into the evolution of human collective action and the origins of sociopolitical complexity. Using behavioural data from the Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of Bolivia and Nyangatom nomadic pastoralists of Ethiopia, we evaluate the traits of leaders and the contexts in which leadership becomes more institutional. We find that leaders tend to have more capital, in the form of age-related knowledge, body size or social connections. These attributes can reduce the costs leaders incur and increase the efficacy of leadership. Leadership becomes more institutional in domains of collective action, such as resolution of intragroup conflict, where collective action failure threatens group integrity. Together these data support the hypothesis that leadership is an important means by which collective action problems are overcome in small-scale societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Glowacki
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Chris von Rueden
- Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, USA
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35
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Beisner BA, Hannibal DL, Finn KR, Fushing H, McCowan B. Social power, conflict policing, and the role of subordination signals in rhesus macaque society. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:102-12. [PMID: 26801956 PMCID: PMC5380402 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Revised: 12/28/2015] [Accepted: 01/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Policing is a conflict-limiting mechanism observed in many primate species. It is thought to require a skewed distribution of social power for some individuals to have sufficiently high social power to stop others' fights, yet social power has not been examined in most species with policing behavior. We examined networks of subordination signals as a source of social power that permits policing behavior in rhesus macaques. MATERIALS AND METHODS For each of seven captive groups of rhesus macaques, we (a) examined the structure of subordination signal networks and used GLMs to examine the relationship between (b) pairwise dominance certainty and subordination network pathways and (c) policing frequency and social power (group-level convergence in subordination signaling pathways). RESULTS Networks of subordination signals had perfect linear transitivity, and pairs connected by both direct and indirect pathways of signals had more certain dominance relationships than pairs with no such network connection. Social power calculated using both direct and indirect network pathways showed a heavy-tailed distribution and positively predicted conflict policing. CONCLUSIONS Our results empirically substantiate that subordination signaling is associated with greater dominance relationship certainty and further show that pairs who signal rarely (or not at all) may use information from others' signaling interactions to infer or reaffirm the relative certainty of their own relationships. We argue that the network of formal dominance relationships is central to societal stability because it is important for relationship stability and also supports the additional stabilizing mechanism of policing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianne A Beisner
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
| | - Darcy L Hannibal
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
| | - Kelly R Finn
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
| | - Hsieh Fushing
- Department of Statistics, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
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Krueger K, Schneider G, Flauger B, Heinze J. Context-dependent third-party intervention in agonistic encounters of male Przewalski horses. Behav Processes 2015; 121:54-62. [PMID: 26478251 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2015] [Revised: 10/02/2015] [Accepted: 10/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
One mechanism to resolve conflict among group members is third party intervention, for which several functions, such as kin protection, alliance formation, and the promotion of group cohesion have been proposed. Still, empirical research on the function of intervention behaviour is rare. We studied 40 cases of intervention behaviour in a field study on 13 semi-wild bachelor horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) in (a) standard social situations, and (b) when new horses joined the group (i.e. introductions). Only interventions in agonistic encounters were analysed. Eight of 13 animals directed intervention behaviour toward threatening animal in agonistic encounters of group members. One stallion was particularly active. The stallions did not intervene to support former group mates or kin and interventions were not reciprocated. In introduction situations and in standard social situations, the interveners supported animals which were lower in rank, but targeted, threatening animals of comparable social rank. After introductions, stallions received more affiliative behaviour from animals they supported and thus appeared to intervene for alliance formation. In standard social situations, interveners did not receive more affiliative behaviour from animals they supported and may primarily have intervened to promote group cohesion and to reduce social disruption within the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstanze Krueger
- University of Regensburg, Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Gudrun Schneider
- Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, Zoological Institute & Museum, Johann-Sebastian-Bach Str. 11/12, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Birgit Flauger
- University of Regensburg, Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jürgen Heinze
- University of Regensburg, Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Turesson HK, Ribeiro S. Can vocal conditioning trigger a semiotic ratchet in marmosets? Front Psychol 2015; 6:1519. [PMID: 26500583 PMCID: PMC4596241 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The complexity of human communication has often been taken as evidence that our language reflects a true evolutionary leap, bearing little resemblance to any other animal communication system. The putative uniqueness of the human language poses serious evolutionary and ethological challenges to a rational explanation of human communication. Here we review ethological, anatomical, molecular, and computational results across several species to set boundaries for these challenges. Results from animal behavior, cognitive psychology, neurobiology, and semiotics indicate that human language shares multiple features with other primate communication systems, such as specialized brain circuits for sensorimotor processing, the capability for indexical (pointing) and symbolic (referential) signaling, the importance of shared intentionality for associative learning, affective conditioning and parental scaffolding of vocal production. The most substantial differences lie in the higher human capacity for symbolic compositionality, fast vertical transmission of new symbols across generations, and irreversible accumulation of novel adaptive behaviors (cultural ratchet). We hypothesize that increasingly-complex vocal conditioning of an appropriate animal model may be sufficient to trigger a semiotic ratchet, evidenced by progressive sign complexification, as spontaneous contact calls become indexes, then symbols and finally arguments (strings of symbols). To test this hypothesis, we outline a series of conditioning experiments in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). The experiments are designed to probe the limits of vocal communication in a prosocial, highly vocal primate 35 million years far from the human lineage, so as to shed light on the mechanisms of semiotic complexification and cultural transmission, and serve as a naturalistic behavioral setting for the investigation of language disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sidarta Ribeiro
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
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38
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Chimpanzees’ Bystander Reactions to Infanticide. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2015; 26:143-60. [DOI: 10.1007/s12110-015-9228-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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39
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40
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Affiliation(s)
- Manvir Singh
- Centre for Social Evolution, Dept of Biology; Univ. of Copenhagen; Universitetsparken 15 DK-2100 Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Jacobus J. Boomsma
- Centre for Social Evolution, Dept of Biology; Univ. of Copenhagen; Universitetsparken 15 DK-2100 Copenhagen Denmark
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41
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Hasegawa M, Kutsukake N. Bayesian competitiveness estimation predicts dominance turnover among wild male chimpanzees. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1821-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Jensen K, Vaish A, Schmidt MFH. The emergence of human prosociality: aligning with others through feelings, concerns, and norms. Front Psychol 2014; 5:822. [PMID: 25120521 PMCID: PMC4114263 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2014] [Accepted: 07/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The fact that humans cooperate with nonkin is something we take for granted, but this is an anomaly in the animal kingdom. Our species' ability to behave prosocially may be based on human-unique psychological mechanisms. We argue here that these mechanisms include the ability to care about the welfare of others (other-regarding concerns), to "feel into" others (empathy), and to understand, adhere to, and enforce social norms (normativity). We consider how these motivational, emotional, and normative substrates of prosociality develop in childhood and emerged in our evolutionary history. Moreover, we suggest that these three mechanisms all serve the critical function of aligning individuals with others: Empathy and other-regarding concerns align individuals with one another, and norms align individuals with their group. Such alignment allows us to engage in the kind of large-scale cooperation seen uniquely in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith Jensen
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of ManchesterManchester, UK
| | - Amrisha Vaish
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzig, Germany
| | - Marco F. H. Schmidt
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzig, Germany
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Third-party punishment increases cooperation in children through (misaligned) expectations and conditional cooperation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:6916-21. [PMID: 24778231 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1320451111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The human ability to establish cooperation, even in large groups of genetically unrelated strangers, depends upon the enforcement of cooperation norms. Third-party punishment is one important factor to explain high levels of cooperation among humans, although it is still somewhat disputed whether other animal species also use this mechanism for promoting cooperation. We study the effectiveness of third-party punishment to increase children's cooperative behavior in a large-scale cooperation game. Based on an experiment with 1,120 children, aged 7 to 11 y, we find that the threat of third-party punishment more than doubles cooperation rates, despite the fact that children are rarely willing to execute costly punishment. We can show that the higher cooperation levels with third-party punishment are driven by two components. First, cooperation is a rational (expected payoff-maximizing) response to incorrect beliefs about the punishment behavior of third parties. Second, cooperation is a conditionally cooperative reaction to correct beliefs that third party punishment will increase a partner's level of cooperation.
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Beisner BA, McCowan B. Policing in nonhuman primates: partial interventions serve a prosocial conflict management function in rhesus macaques. PLoS One 2013; 8:e77369. [PMID: 24167570 PMCID: PMC3805604 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2013] [Accepted: 09/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of prosocial policing in nonhuman societies traditionally focus on impartial interventions because of an underlying assumption that partial support implies a direct benefit to the intervener, thereby negating the potential for being prosocial in maintaining social stability for the benefit of the group. However, certain types of partial interventions have significant potential to be prosocial in controlling conflict, e.g. support of non-kin subordinates. Here, we propose a policing support hypothesis that some types of agonistic support serve a prosocial policing function that maintains group stability. Using seven large captive groups of rhesus macaques, we investigated the relationship between intervention type and group-level costs and benefits (rates of trauma, severe aggression, social relocation) and individual level costs and benefits (preferential sex-dyad targeting, dominance ambiguity reduction, access to mates, and return aggression). Our results show that impartial interventions and support of subordinate non-kin represent prosocial policing as both (1) were negatively associated with group-level rates of trauma and severe aggression, respectively, (2) showed no potential to confer individual dominance benefits, (3) when performed outside the mating season, they did not increase chances of mating with the beneficiary, and (4) were low-cost for the highest-ranking interveners. We recommend expanding the definition of 'policing' in nonhumans to include these 'policing support interventions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianne A. Beisner
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
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Nettle D, Cronin KA, Bateson M. Responses of chimpanzees to cues of conspecific observation. Anim Behav 2013; 86:595-602. [PMID: 24027343 PMCID: PMC3763378 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2013] [Revised: 05/15/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence has shown that humans are remarkably sensitive to artificial cues of conspecific observation when making decisions with potential social consequences. Whether similar effects are found in other great apes has not yet been investigated. We carried out two experiments in which individual chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, took items of food from an array in the presence of either an image of a large conspecific face or a scrambled control image. In experiment 1 we compared three versions of the face image varying in size and the amount of the face displayed. In experiment 2 we compared a fourth variant of the image with more prominent coloured eyes displayed closer to the focal chimpanzee. The chimpanzees did not look at the face images significantly more than at the control images in either experiment. Although there were trends for some individuals in each experiment to be slower to take high-value food items in the face conditions, these were not consistent or robust. We suggest that the extreme human sensitivity to cues of potential conspecific observation may not be shared with chimpanzees. Humans respond strongly to ‘watching eyes’, but whether chimpanzees do is unknown. We investigated if chimpanzees' readiness to take food was affected by face images. There was no clear evidence that subjects looked at faces more than control images. Any effect of the faces on chimpanzees' decisions was weak and inconsistent. Chimpanzees may not be as sensitive to cues of being watched as humans are.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Nettle
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution & Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, U.K
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Abstract
Punishment can help maintain cooperation by deterring free-riding and cheating. Of particular importance in large-scale human societies is third-party punishment in which individuals punish a transgressor or norm violator even when they themselves are not affected. Nonhuman primates and other animals aggress against conspecifics with some regularity, but it is unclear whether this is ever aimed at punishing others for noncooperation, and whether third-party punishment occurs at all. Here we report an experimental study in which one of humans' closest living relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), could punish an individual who stole food. Dominants retaliated when their own food was stolen, but they did not punish when the food of third-parties was stolen, even when the victim was related to them. Third-party punishment as a means of enforcing cooperation, as humans do, might therefore be a derived trait in the human lineage.
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