Question

Briefly describe and analyze a non-human primate's behavior you have observed...either in the wild, at a zoo, on a documentary, or in one of the videos we've watched for our class. What type of behavior would you categorize it as?

Answer 1

Non primate behavioral pattern ;

The purpose of this study is to observe the social behaviors of both human and nonhuman primates, and to produce results that will effectively illustrate the parallels drawn between physical interactions of these groups. "Not surprisingly, anthropologists, with their emphasis on the study of human-kind, first put their research energy into the study of nonhuman primates as reflections of the lifeway patterns of early human society." Our ultimate goal through this study is to gain insight and further understanding into the nature of human nature by comparing human social behaviors with those of two other nonhuman primate groups. To avoid the biases of past research studies, we are observing three very diverse primate populations: the Japanese Macaques at the Cincinnati Zoo, the Bonobos at the Cincinnati Zoo, and a class of kindergarten students at Miami UniversityÕs Child Development Center. Contrary to the previous research studies that employed only the knowledge of early human society to decode the mysteries of observed nonhuman primate behaviors, we are instead examining the social behaviors of these three primates in lieu of their common ancestors, and attempting to decode the mysteries of innate human behaviors.
Question:
Which primate group, Bonobos, Japanese Macaques, or human children, will have the most frequent, most aggressive physical interactions?
Hypothesis:
We believe that the non-human primate groups, the Bonobos and Japanese Macaques, will have more frequent physical interactions than the children. This hypothesis is constructed based on the human social practices that teach children to "keep their hands to themselves." Therefore it is possible that their physical interactions will be more violent when they do occur, considering violence is a common outlet of aggression. Violence is often a display of aggression among nonhuman primates as well, but we believe that it manifests itself in the form of a decipherable pattern or procedure. We are also observing the sexes of the individuals and the nature of the interactions that occur between the sexes, whether they are aggressive or peaceful.
According to studies done by Mary McDonald Pavelka on Japanese Macaques, "Male social success Ð which translates into a system of support which translates into high rank Ð does have a tendency to improve with age and experience." Based on this theory and the fact that the males tend to travel and move off as they grow into adulthood, we predict that the older males in captivity at the zoo will be more independent and tend towards more aggressive behavior with other males. Similarly, we predict that the females will have more affectionate interactions overall as one experiment that we researched states: "It is apparent that females are the major groomers, since 88.7% of all social grooming were performed by females,". As far as relationships between males and females, because we are beginning our observations in the spring, we hypothesize that we will see aggressive, but non-violent behavior. "Chasing behavior of males towards females increases dramatically during mating season."
Predictions for the Bonobos are a bit different because of what our research has revealed. "One important element characterizing the relationship between adult males is aggressive interactions. Adult males have the highest frequency of aggressive interactions, relative to associations between members of other age-sex classes." Based on this study, we hypothesize that any males kept in the exhibit simultaneously will tend towards more aggressive interactions, with one the dominant and the other submissive. "The pattern of antagonistic behavior between females strongly suggests that dominant-subordinate relationships (or the rank system) are underdeveloped in females compared to males. In general, relations between females are peaceful." Similar to our predictions with the Japanese Macaques, we think that the female bonobos will be more peaceful, though there interactions may be somewhat limited. The same study indicates that, "The frequency of grooming between males and females is extremely high." Accordingly, our prediction is that the males and females will tend towards more affectionate behaviors, and only resort to violence if food is involved.
"Probably as a result of the most temperamental differences, boys and girls, like monkey and baboon youngsters, tend to play with others of the same sex Ð from the first moment where such a choice is possible," . Incorporating FreedmanÕs research into our own personal experiences, we hypothesize that the female human children will be more peaceful amongst themselves, but will occasionally experience aggressive interactions with the males. We also predict that the young males will show mildly aggressive behavior towards each other on occasion, and a little less often towards the females as an assertion of dominance.
Including research and results from all three primate group observations, this study addresses several fundamental issues of human nature.