Category Archives: Ch.5) Comparing Adams and Orangutans

And third, both in the field and in the laboratory, studies of chimpanzee behavior are producing numerous, increasingly clear parallels with human behavior. It’s not just that these apes pat each other on the hand to show affection, or kiss … Continue reading →

Does warfare come naturally to human beings? In the least, one would be justified in concluding that group violence is an option “encoded” in our DNA. I put encoded in quotes because the word too often carries the connotation of … Continue reading →

Chimpanzee males defend a joint territory against other groups–and along with the territory they defend the females who have chosen to live there. Chimp males go “on patrol” together to their borders. – Alison Jolly (64) It isn’t difficult to … Continue reading →

Wives have been known to say of their husbands, “He can never bring himself to admit he’s wrong,” or “He’s never the first to apologize,” or “He hates to ask for directions.” Men seem loath to concede the superiority of … Continue reading →

The only quibble that I have with Hrdy’s views is that she describes female primates as strongly dominance oriented. This may be true for many monkey species–such as baboons and macaques–in which females do [?] for definitive hierarchies, but it … Continue reading →

Other research has shown that when people display dominant nonverbal behavior, not only do others think they are stronger and more competent, but also that they deserve to hold higher status positions. – Larissa Tiedens, & Alison Fragile (72) A … Continue reading →

The human child takes proportionately longer than the 5 to 10 years typical of monkeys and apes to absorb all the necessary information and experiences into that little brain to allow it to cope with the social world into which … Continue reading →

[T]wo studies have found that women going to a singles bar wear more jewelry and makeup when near ovulation. These adornments, it seems, have the advertising value of a chimpanzee’s pink genital swelling, attracting a number of men for the … Continue reading →

Male pride, the source of many a conflict, is reasonably seen as a mental equivalent of broad shoulders. Pride is another legacy of sexual selection. – Wrangham, R. & Peterson, D (19) Why would a god consider pride a deadly … Continue reading →

Captive chimpanzees and bonobos love watching soap operas. – Allison Jolly (26) Those chimps, they are so cute! That’s why we love to watch them at the zoo chasing one another around, exhibiting irritation or attraction or both. Chimps will … Continue reading →

The fundamental emotions are an innate aspect of human nature which is assumed to be not only transcultural, but also trans-specific. – Margaret Power (33) Social hierarchies rely not only on some members behaving more powerfully (or, in a more … Continue reading →

[F]or baboons and other monkeys, group life is essential. – Dorothy Cheney & Robert Seyfarth (42) If you were to observe the behavior of a solitary chimpanzee in a cage, you would come away with a woefully incomplete understanding of … Continue reading →

Struggle for power within a group sometimes culminates in a revolution, in which all members of the most dominant family are suddenly attacked by entire families of subordinates. (51) The above quote says so much. Within communities groups of individuals … Continue reading →

That chimpanzees and humans kill members of neighboring groups of their own species is, we have seen, a startling exception to the normal rule for animals. – Wrangham & Peterson (56) Nevertheless, it cannot be coincidental that the only animals … Continue reading →