Grooming, social rank and 'optimism' in tufted capuchin monkeys: a study of judgement bias

Studying the emotional consequences of social behaviour in nonverbal animals require methods to access their emotional state. One such method is provided by cognitive bias tests. We applied a judgement bias test to tufted capuchin monkeys, Sapajus sp., to evaluate (1) whether receiving grooming was associated with a short-term increase in 'optimism' (that is, a positive bias in the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli) and (2) whether interindividual differences in 'optimism' were related to dominance rank or overall rates of social and nonsocial behaviour. Receiving grooming had no detectable immediate consequences, but increased 'optimism' was observed in dominant monkeys and in monkeys that received overall larger quantities of grooming. These results provide only partial support for the hypothesis that a system of emotional bookkeeping underlies the capacity of group-living animals to reciprocate cooperative interactions. (C) 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Publication type: 
Articolo
Author or Creator: 
Schino, Gabriele
Massimei, Roberta
Pinzaglia, Marta
Addessi, Elsa
Publisher: 
Baillie`re Tindall [etc.], London,, Regno Unito
Source: 
Animal behaviour (Print) 119 (2016): 11–16. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.06.017
info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Schino, Gabriele; Massimei, Roberta; Pinzaglia, Marta; Addessi, Elsa/titolo:Grooming, social rank and 'optimism' in tufted capuchin monkeys: a study of judgement bias/doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.06.017/rivista:Animal behaviour (P
Date: 
2016
Resource Identifier: 
http://www.cnr.it/prodotto/i/366255
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.06.017
info:doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.06.017
Language: 
Eng
ISTC Author: 
Elsa Addessi's picture
Real name: 
Gabriele Schino's picture
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