Do chimpanzees learn reputation by observation? Evidence from direct and indirect experience with generous and selfish strangers

Subiaul, Francys; Vonk, Jennifer; Okamoto-Barth, Sanae; Barth, J.

doi:10.1007/s10071-008-0151-6

Cited by 100 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In Study 2, chimpanzees and orangutans, and in Study 3, human children also took into account experimenter actions toward others in forming reputations, which led them to choose a previously nice experimenter over a mean one in their own subsequent interactions with the experimenters. In sum, these studies demonstrate that at least some of our closest living relatives as well as human children have the ability to form direct and indirect reputation judgments, extending the findings with chimpanzees by Subiaul et al (2008) and Russell et al (2008) to orangutans. The reasons for the observed species differences are not entirely clear and should be subject to future research.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Direct and indirect reputation formation in nonhuman great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).

Herrmann

Keupp

Hare

et al. 2013

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Humans make decisions about when and with whom to cooperate based on their reputations. People either learn about others by direct interaction or by observing third-party interactions or gossip. An important question is whether other animal species, especially our closest living relatives, the nonhuman great apes, also form reputations of others. In Study 1, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and 2.5-year-old human children experienced a nice experimenter who tried to give food/toys to the subject and a mean experimenter who interrupted the food/toy giving. In studies 2 and 3, nonhuman great apes and human children could only passively observe a similar interaction, in which a nice experimenter and a mean experimenter interacted with a third party. Orangutans and 2.5-year-old human children preferred to approach the nice experimenter rather than the mean one after having directly experienced their respective behaviors. Orangutans, chimpanzees, and 2.5-year-old human children also took into account experimenter actions toward third parties in forming reputations. These studies show that the human ability to form direct and indirect reputation judgment is already present in young children and shared with at least some of the other great apes.Keywords: direct reputation, indirect reputation, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, human children Evaluating the behavior of others is an important skill for members of a social group. It is advantageous to know about the good or bad reputation of other individuals to adjust one's own behavior accordingly. Based on this knowledge, individuals can, for instance, choose a cooperative partner for future interactions and decrease the risk of being cheated by noncooperators. The

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Direct and indirect reputation formation in nonhuman great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).

Herrmann

Keupp

Hare

et al. 2013

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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“…Although challenging, it is possible to study fairness in the laboratory removed from egocentric reactions. Experimental studies on reputation in chimpanzees indicates that these apes are able to form opinions about human experimenters from watching these experimenters interact with other chimpanzees (68). A fruitful line of inquiry would be to explore nonhuman primates' judgments of the equity of others' interactions.…”

Section: Future Directions and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Justice- and fairness-related behaviors in nonhuman primates

Brosnan

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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A distinctive feature across human societies is our interest in justice and fairness. People will sometimes invest in extremely costly behavior to achieve fair outcomes for themselves and others. Why do people care so much about justice? One way to address this is comparatively, exploring behaviors related to justice and fairness in other species. In this paper, I review work exploring responses to inequity, prosocial behavior, and other relevant behaviors in nonhuman primates in an effort to understand both the potential evolutionary function of these behaviors and the social and ecological reasons for the individual differences in behavior. I also consider how these behaviors relate to human behavior, particularly in the case of experimental studies using games derived from experimental economics to compare nonhuman primates' responses to those of humans in similar experimental conditions. These results emphasize the importance of a comparative approach to better understand the function and diversity of human behavior.comparative economics | decision-making | game theory | behavioral phylogeny | cooperation A feature of humans that apparently sets us apart as a species is our focus on others' well-being, as well as our own (1, 2). We will, sometimes at great personal cost, protest outcomes that we consider unfair, whether they personally affect us or have no direct impact on our lives. What is it that causes people to behave in this way? One possibility is that it is attributable to culture. In fact, only English has a word for the concept of "fairness"; other languages have adopted the English word, indicating a culturally broad interest in the concept but potentially implying that the concept is not ubiquitous (3). Another possibility is that we have evolved to be interested in the well-being of others. Although there are clear fitness benefits to considering one's own wellbeing, there are also (more delayed) benefits to considering others' well-being. There may be costs to helping others in the short term, but if there are long-term benefits, either because of continued interactions based on reciprocity or, more indirectly, because of gaining a reputation as a "fair" person, then the behavior can be selected (4). If this behavior has evolved, we may find similar behaviors, or precursor behaviors, in other species. Other species will not show these behaviors in the same way that humans do. Among other reasons for this, many behaviors related to fairness and justice, such as the ability to share information about a third party's previous behavior, require language. Nonetheless, an important question is the degree to which fairness and justice have evolved from similar sorts of behaviors in other species. This evolutionary approach provides insight into understanding our own behavior.In humans, the concept of fairness is closely related to that of justice. Distinguishing the two, fairness involves voluntary interactions with other individuals, whereas justice is meted out by an impartial third party (3). Based...

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“…In an earlier study, chimpanzees spent more time near a human who shared food with another human than one who did not 15 ; this clearly suggests evaluation of a foraging opportunity. Another study reported that chimpanzees begged more from a generous person (who gave another food) than one who withheld food, but only after training 16 ; again this suggests that the apes were interested in getting more food. In the present study, both actors offered identical food to the monkeys; no foraging advantage followed from preferentially accepting food from either actor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Third-party social evaluation of humans by monkeys

et al. 2013

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Humans routinely socially evaluate others not only following direct interactions with them but also based on others' interactions with third parties. In other species, 'eavesdropping' on third-party interactions is often used to gain information about foraging or mating opportunities, or others individuals' aggressiveness or fighting ability. However, image scoring for potential cooperativeness is less well studied. Here we ask whether a non-human primate species, tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella), socially evaluates humans after witnessing third-party interactions involving a helpful intervention or failure to help. We find that the monkeys accept food less frequently from those who persistently reject another's requests for help. This negative social evaluation effect is robust across conditions, and tightly linked to explicit refusal to help. Evaluation of potential helpfulness based on third-party interactions may thus not be unique to humans.

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Do chimpanzees learn reputation by observation? Evidence from direct and indirect experience with generous and selfish strangers

Cited by 100 publications

References 59 publications

Direct and indirect reputation formation in nonhuman great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).

Direct and indirect reputation formation in nonhuman great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).

Justice- and fairness-related behaviors in nonhuman primates

Third-party social evaluation of humans by monkeys

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