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Posted on 08/26/2008 5:27:52 AM PDT by Brainhose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Monkeys can experience the joy of giving in much the same way as humans do, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
Tests in capuchin monkeys showed the animals consistently chose to share food with another monkey if given the option, suggesting they are capable of empathy, the team at the Yerkes Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta found.
"They seem to care for the welfare of those they know," Frans de Waal, director of the Living Links Center at Yerkes, said in a statement.
His team tested eight female brown capuchin monkeys in pairs. They could choose a token that gave only themselves a treat or an option that rewarded both of them, called a prosocial option.
Either way, the first monkey got the same amount of food.
"Subjects systematically favored the prosocial option provided their partner was a) familiar, b) visible, and c) receiving rewards of equal value," De Waal's team wrote in their report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The fact the capuchins predominantly selected the prosocial option must mean seeing another monkey receive food is satisfying or rewarding for them," said de Waal.
"We believe prosocial behavior is empathy based. Empathy increases in both humans and animals with social closeness, and in our study, closer partners made more prosocial choices."
De Waal's team next will see whether giving is rewarding to capuchins because they can eat together or if the monkeys simply like to see the other monkey enjoying food.
"Capuchin monkeys spontaneously share food in both nature and captivity, and commonly sit next to each other while eating," the researchers wrote.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Alan Elsner)
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Well, at least that way they won't be trying to take their food away from them...
Redistributiuon of wealth — its nature’s way! [/s]
But did the monkeys that recieved free food bitch and complain, demand more, and hate the giver?
Nice addition. Are you referring to real zoo monkeys or the "guests" at Gitmo?
My thought, too. The monkeys are smart enough to realize that if the other monkey gets fed at the same time, they're less likely to have to fight over the food. They may not be able to figure out that a monkey in another cage is unable to come and fight over the food.
I seriously doubt that any altruism is operant here.
A so-called scientist seeing what he wants to see. This has nothing to do with sharing food!
The monkeys got the same amount of food, no matter which option they chose.
They often chose to give the other monkey some food too.
Well, just maybe, the monkeys thought it was a good idea to see twice the food dropping, and maybe they thought that they would get some of it.
This is not sharing! There is no empathy!
This has nothing to do with experiencing the joy of giving in much the same way as humans do!
They just can’t stop themselves from projecting human attributes on to animals! They are compelled to “prove” that animals are really just as smart as humans.
Liberalism is truly an unstoppable disturbance of the thinking facilities.
The monkeys got the same amount of food, no matter which option they chose.
Unlike liberals in the government who take half of your food and give it to monkeys who don't even choose a token for a living and whom you don't know.
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