Abstract
The ability to inhibit previously employed strategies and flexibly adjust behavioural responses to external conditions may be critical for individual survival. However, it is unclear which factors predict their distribution across species. Here, we investigated social inhibition and behavioural flexibility in six primate species (chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, capuchin monkeys and spider monkeys) differing in terms of phylogenetic relatedness, foraging ecology and social organization. Depending on the social context, individuals could maximize their food intake by inhibiting the selection of a larger food reward in one condition (i.e. inhibition), but not in others, which required them to flexibly switching strategies across conditions (i.e. behavioural flexibility). Overall, our study revealed inter-specific differences in social inhibition and behavioural flexibility, which partially reflected differences in fission-fusion dynamics. In particular, orangutans and chimpanzees showed the highest level of inhibitory skills, while gorillas and capuchin monkeys showed the lowest one. In terms of behavioural flexibility, orangutans and spider monkeys were the best performers, while bonobos and capuchin monkeys were the worst ones. These results contribute to our understanding that inhibition and behavioural flexibility may be linked in more complex ways than usually thought, although both abilities play a crucial role in efficient problem solving.
Highlights
Flexibility allows animals to modify their behaviour based on brief, limited experience, responding rapidly to subtle variations in consequences or context[1]
All species performed below chance in the first ExpSR session, except for chimpanzees and orangutans, which performed at chance levels
Our study provided evidence that inhibitory skills and behavioural flexibility are partly independent phenomena, and that both vary across species (Table 1)
Summary
Flexibility allows animals to modify their behaviour based on brief, limited experience, responding rapidly to subtle variations in consequences or context[1]. For instance, may be needed in frequently changing social environments, like those typical of species characterized by high levels of fission-fusion dynamics (i.e. frequent formation of subgroups of variable size and composition[23]). Under these circumstances, it may be beneficial for individuals to flexibly switch among behavioural strategies depending on subgroup composition (e.g. attacking group members depending on the presence of coalitionary partners in the subgroup). Refraining from eating when higher-ranking partners are close by requires individuals to assess the social context and respond suppressing the prepotent response of eating when dominants are nearby (i.e. inhibition), but reaching for the food as soon as the dominants have left (i.e. behavioural flexibility). Differences in the experimental procedures make it hard to draw conclusions about inter-specific differences
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