Complementarity and symmetry in social relationships of nonhuman primates

Primates ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 835-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted D. Wade
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Nonhuman Primates

Natural normativity: The ‘is’ and ‘ought’ of animal behavior

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 185-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frans B.M. de Waal
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Animal Behavior ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Ample Evidence

The evolution of behavior is sometimes considered irrelevant to the issue of human morality, since it lacks the normative character of morality (‘ought’), and consist entirely of descriptions of how things are or came about (‘is’). Evolved behavior, including that of other animals, is not entirely devoid of normativity, however. Defining normativity as adherence to an ideal or standard, there is ample evidence that animals treat their social relationships in this manner. In other words, they pursue social values. Here I review evidence that nonhuman primates actively try to preserve harmony within their social network by, e.g., reconciling after conflict, protesting against unequal divisions, and breaking up fights amongst others. In doing so, they correct deviations from an ideal state. They further show emotional self-control and anticipatory conflict resolution in order to prevent such deviations. Recognition of the goal-orientation and normative character of animal social behavior permits us to partially bridge the is/ought divide erected in relation to human moral behavior.

Social relationships and social cognition in nonhuman primates

Science ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 234 (4782) ◽  
pp. 1361-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Cheney ◽  
R Seyfarth ◽  
B Smuts
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Nonhuman Primates

scholarly journals Theory of mind in nonhuman primates

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Heyes
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Primate Behavior ◽  
Conditional Discrimination Training ◽  
Role Taking ◽  
Self Recognition ◽  
Substantial Progress

Since the BBS article in which Premack and Woodruff (1978) asked “Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?,” it has been repeatedly claimed that there is observational and experimental evidence that apes have mental state concepts, such as “want” and “know.” Unlike research on the development of theory of mind in childhood, however, no substantial progress has been made through this work with nonhuman primates. A survey of empirical studies of imitation, self-recognition, social relationships, deception, role-taking, and perspective-taking suggests that in every case where nonhuman primate behavior has been interpreted as a sign of theory of mind, it could instead have occurred by chance or as a product of nonmentalistic processes such as associative learning or inferences based on nonmental categories. Arguments to the effect that, in spite of this, the theory of mind hypothesis should be accepted because it is more parsimonious than alternatives or because it is supported by convergent evidence are not compelling. Such arguments are based on unsupportable assumptions about the role of parsimony in science and either ignore the requirement that convergent evidence proceed from independent assumptions, or fail to show that it supports the theory of mind hypothesis over nonmentalist alternatives. Progress in research on theory of mind requires experimental procedures that can distinguish the theory of mind hypothesis from nonmentalist alternatives. A procedure that may have this potential is proposed. It uses conditional discrimination training and transfer tests to determine whether chimpanzees have the concept “see.” Commentators are invited to identify flaws in the procedure and to suggest alternatives.

The evolution of female social relationships in nonhuman primates

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 291-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth H. M. Sterck ◽  
David P. Watts ◽  
Carel P. van Schaik
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Female Social Relationships

Social Motives Predict Loneliness During a Developmental Transition

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Nikitin ◽  
Alexandra M. Freund
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Avoidance ◽  
Social Approach ◽  
Social Motives ◽  
Developmental Transitions ◽  
Avoidance Motivation ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Low Levels

Abstract. Establishing new social relationships is important for mastering developmental transitions in young adulthood. In a 2-year longitudinal study with four measurement occasions (T1: n = 245, T2: n = 96, T3: n = 103, T4: n = 85), we investigated the role of social motives in college students’ mastery of the transition of moving out of the parental home, using loneliness as an indicator of poor adjustment to the transition. Students with strong social approach motivation reported stable and low levels of loneliness. In contrast, students with strong social avoidance motivation reported high levels of loneliness. However, this effect dissipated relatively quickly as most of the young adults adapted to the transition over a period of several weeks. The present study also provides evidence for an interaction between social approach and social avoidance motives: Social approach motives buffered the negative effect on social well-being of social avoidance motives. These results illustrate the importance of social approach and social avoidance motives and their interplay during developmental transitions.

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