Primate Social Complexity Flashcards
What are examples of care in primate societies?
grooming, co-huddling, hugging, kissing
What were the results of Harlow’s (1950) experiments?
- primates raised in social isolation do not develop appropriate social, sexual, parenting skills
- social experience = critical
- depending on species, if access to social others before adulthood, may recover some abilities
What does the soft mom model tell us about primates?
- need physical contact
- always choose cloth mother over rough one
What are “together-together monkeys”?
co-housed juveniles without moms will cling to one another when put together
What did the shift from solitary nocturnal Prosimians to social dirunal Anthropoids lead to?
feeding in groups
What is the impact of grouping on primate sociality?
offers defense against increase predator pressure, but requires developing social skills i.e. group living raises issues of food and mate competition, signals of rank, opportunities for co-op, etc.
What are the differences between social domain, natural domain, and physical domain as far as cognitive demand?
social: complex and unpredictable; agents with complex motives ; interaction changes contingencies that apply; most difficult to predict; MOST COGNITIVELY DEMANDING
physical: highly predictable i.e. gravity
natural: more difficult than physical, learn about ecology to understand
How does De Waal (1986) define a society?
power not equal to rank
When does rank = power?
- when rank alone translates into priority of access to resources (food, mates, etc.)
- individuals must keep track of their own dyadic relations
What is a consequences of when rank is not equal to power?
- coalitional behavior => lower ranked individuals can work together to gain resources over one of dominant rank
- set up opportunities for reciprocal altruism especially in unrelated animals
Dyadic relationships still exist in societies where rank is not equal to power, but ….
do not always determine outcome
What are examples of social complexity in Savannah (“Olive”) Baboons?
- immigrant male competitive strategies change over time
- strong, young males first over aggression => develop friendships with female with whom they are likely to make
How do immigrant male baboons interact with infants?
-use kids as passport to female and buffer between male aggression
How do some baboons develop trut with other males?
grab each others testes, first tense and assymetrical, then becomes symmetrical in coalitions
What are some cognitive demands that result from social complexity?
assessing currency, debt, fairness, cheating, sanctioning, etc
What are the different types of cebus coalitions?
-male-male, female-female, male-female paris vs. conspecifics or oustiders
How do some cebus test the bonds of friendship?
-sticking finger in eye, up nosem chewing on/sucking body parts, etc
How do the cebus coalitions influence who individuals choose?
support partners w/whom they have a more affiliative relations (friends)
How does gender influence cebus coalitions?
males generally outrank females, but coalitions can out compete
What are some examples of cebus coalition movements in action?
- double headed displays
- alpha intervening to separate potential allies
Who made up the triad in de Waal’s (1982) Chimpanzee Politics?
1 and #3 in coalition; Yeoren’s support of Luit required to maintain position
#1 Luit #2 Niki #3 Yeoren
How did Niki act in Chimpanzee politics?
- Niki bothered females, while Luit defending and calming them, groomed and bonded with Yeoren
- Niki then started doing favors for females
- Luit broke up interactions but also needed female support
- Niki then outright challenged Luit
What happened after the fight with Luit and Niki in Chimpanzee Politics?
With Yeoren’s and the females’ support, Niki took over as alpha
Who got the most females throughout Chimpanzee Politics?
Yeoren; got leftovers from both Niki and Luit
Within bonobos, what is unique about the female sexual swellings and what is the impact on the bonobos’ sexual interactions?
- sexual swellings persistent (not just during estrus)
- lots of non reproductive sex with many different relationships i.e. G-G female rubbing, father-daughter, etc.
- use sex to calm down “make love not war” after arguments
What does female genital rubbing do for bonobo’s social structure?
establish non kin female bonds
When Bonobo females emigrate, who must approve their acceptance into new monokin group?
matrons (females)
In bonobos, which coalitions can dominate? how is this different from chimpanzees?
- bonobos = female coalitions can dominate
- chimpanzees = all males dominant over females
What are some examples of triadic (or polyadic) interactions?
- Redirected Aggression: If A aggress B, and B redirects to C- C is liable to be ally/kin to A
- Mediation of Reconciliation: e.g. A & B fight, C groom each until calm and A & B groom each other
- Intervention: e.g. A&B friendly, C breaks them up (possibly to prevent coalition)
What is “peering”?
starting at the mouth while another conspecific is eating; worked when infants but as older tends to show dominance more
What is “Social Tool Use”?
triadic interactions involve using a “social tool” to get what they want; user interacts with tool to influence Target
What are the different examples of social tools?
- Buffer: e.g. A use B as shield from aggressive C
- Recruit e.g. A recruit B against C
- Passport: e.g. A nice (e.g. baby) to B to get close to (mom) C
- Incite: e.g. A nice to B to anger/incite investment from C
- Slander; e.g. Juv wants attention from mom, goes near innocent bystnder & scream, mom rescues (can be used for food too-distraction)
What does the concept that one animal is using another for its own ends contributes to?
“Machiavellian Intelligence” hypothesis
In socially complex societies, triadic interactions requires what?
- learning about own dyadic relationships
2. learning about the relationships between others
What did the Dasser (1988) study study?
long tailed macaques trained on Match to Sample
What were the results of the Dasser (1988) study?
shown photo of mom from subject group; had to match to her offspring vs. another offspring
First trial success of transfer to other familiar mother/offspring pairs: knows other kins relationships
What was Seyfarth and Cheney’s (1990) experiment results?
- when juvenile Vervet gives alarm, others look to its mother for confirmation
- like Dasser experiment above, shows animals in troop know who is related to whom
What were the results of Perry’s (2004) study on rank?
- Cebus, during antagonism, select coalition partners from their friends
- also take into consideration the relative rank of their friends to the target
What was the procedure of the Cheney, Seyfarth, & Silk (1995) study on rank?
- recorded dominant and submissive calls from all Chacma Baboon in group
- fabricated combination of two animals’ calls (i.e. fake vocal interaction for playback tests)
What were the results of the Cheney, Seyfarth, & Silk (1995) study?
When played combo of dominant call by dom animal + submissive call by subordinate, no reaction
But, when played dominant call from subordinate + submissive call from dominant, large reaction
know normal rank relations between others
What was the impact of primates shifting from multiple to single births on their sociality?
- single births require extended care (maternal, sometimes paternal)
- care demands physical contact, infant held, carried
- close body contact sought throughout life
