Abstract
Over the past decade, many researchers have used food donation tasks to test whether nonhuman primates show human-like patterns of prosocial behavior in experimental settings. Although these tasks are elegant in their simplicity, performance within and across species is difficult to explain under a unified theoretical framework. Here, we attempt to better understand variation in prosociality by examining the circumstances that promote and hinder the expression of prosocial preferences. To this end, we tested whether capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)—a species that has previously demonstrated prosocial preferences—would behave prosocially using a novel touchscreen task. In contrast to previous studies, we found that capuchins as a group did not prosocially deliver food to a partner. Importantly however, data from control conditions revealed that subjects demonstrated limited understanding of the reward contingencies of the task. We also compared individuals’ performance in the current study with their performance in a previously published prosociality study. We conclude by discussing how continuing to explore intraspecies variation in performance on prosocial tasks may help inform debates regarding the existence of other-regarding preferences in nonhuman species.
Highlights
Humans may be unique among species in the extent to which we help others, there can little doubt that non-human primates act in ways that benefit other individuals in some contexts.Some primate species are known to transfer food to unrelated social partners [1], engage in instrumental helping [2,3,4,5,6], and console victims of aggression [7]
Comparing the number of times each actor selected the prosocial option when a partner was present to retrieve food rewards versus when no partner was present, we found that JM selected the prosocial option significantly more often only when she received a low-value food (p = 0.002)
The goal of this study was to examine whether capuchin monkeys would exhibit prosocial behavior using a novel touchscreen task
Summary
Some primate species are known to transfer food to unrelated social partners [1], engage in instrumental helping [2,3,4,5,6], and console victims of aggression [7]. Such behaviors are often referred to as prosocial behaviors. In a widely used paradigm, one individual (the ―actor‖) must choose between two different options Both options yield the same food reward for the actor, one option delivers a highly desired food to a partner (the ―recipient‖) while the other option does not.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
