“Emotional Proximity” and “Spatial Proximity”: Higher Relationship Quality and Nearer Distance Both Strengthen Scratch Contagion in Tibetan Macaques

Zhang, Yuheng; Wang, Xi; Chen, Mengmeng; Tai, Yi-Mei; Li, Jinhua

doi:10.3390/ani12162151

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Previous studies have shown that videos or pictures of people scratching can induce scratching behavior in healthy individuals 35 . Besides humans, contagious scratching has been observed in few other species, including rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) 37 , Japanese monkeys (M. fuscata) 38 , Tibetan macaques (M. thibetana) 39 and spider monkeys 33 . A study on mice, instead, failed to detect contagious scratching 40 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of behavioral contagion in captive black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra)

Lemes,

Amici

2024

Preprint

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Behavioral contagion is thought to have a significant role in social synchronization and coordination across animal taxa. While there is extensive evidence of behavioral contagion in Haplorrhines (i.e. monkeys and apes), limited research exists in Strepsirrhines (i.e. lemurs). Here, we aimed to investigate the presence of contagious yawning and scratching in two captive groups of black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) (N = 4) and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) (N = 4), and further test whether behavioral contagion is modulated by the model’s dominance rank. We conducted all occurrence sampling to examine whether individuals observing a yawning or scratching event (i.e. trigger event) were more likely to yawn or scratch in the following 2 minutes, as compared to individuals who did not observe it. We ran generalized linear mixed models and found that the likelihood of yawning and scratching was higher for individuals observing the trigger event than for individuals who did not observe the event, although the model’s dominance rank had no modulating effect on the probability of showing behavioral contagion. Our findings represent the first evidence of behavioral contagion in this genus and contribute to shed light on the distribution and the possible adaptive function of this phenomenon in primates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of behavioral contagion in captive black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra)

Lemes,

Amici

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In humans, scratching is triggered by listening to the word “itching” 38 or itch-related sounds 39 , and by observing others scratching 40 – 42 . In non-human primates, contagious scratching has been shown in captive orangutans 37 , captive Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata 43 ), wild Tibetan macaques ( M. thibetana 44 ) and captive rhesus macaques ( M. mulatta 45 ). As in the case of yawning, however, there is no evidence for scratching contagion in Platyrrhines yet (captive common marmosets 33 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yawning and scratching contagion in wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

Valdivieso-Cortadella

Bernardi-Gómez

Aureli

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Behavioural contagion is a widespread phenomenon in animal species, which is thought to promote coordination and group cohesion. Among non-human primates, however, there is no evidence of behavioural contagion in Platyrrhines (i.e. primates from South and Central America) yet. Here, we investigated whether behavioural contagion is also present in this taxon, by assessing yawning and scratching contagion in a wild group (N = 49) of Geoffroy’s spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). We conducted focal samples to examine whether individuals observing the triggering event (i.e. a naturally occurring yawning or scratching event in the group) would be more likely to yawn or scratch in the following 3 min, as compared to individuals who did not observe the triggering event. We ran generalized linear mixed models using a Bayesian approach, and found that the probability of yawning and scratching was higher for individuals observing others yawning and scratching, respectively, as compared to individuals who did not observe such an event. Behavioural contagion did not vary depending on the observer’s sex, kinship or relationship quality with the individual performing the triggering event. These findings provide the first evidence for yawning and scratching contagion in a wild group of spider monkeys, and importantly contribute to the debate about the evolutionary origins of behavioural contagion in primates.

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“…In humans, scratching is triggered by listening to the word "itching" [38] or itch-related sounds [39], and by observing others scratching [40][41][42]. In non-human primates, contagious scratching has been shown in orangutans [37], Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata [43]), Tibetan macaques (M. thibetana [44]) and rhesus macaques (M. mulatta [45]). As in the case of yawning, there is no evidence for scratching contagion in Platyrrrhines (for negative results in common marmosets, see [30]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural contagion in wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

Valdivieso-Cortadella

Bernardi-Gómez

Aureli

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Behavioural contagion is a widespread phenomenon in animal species, which is thought to promote coordination and group cohesion. Among non-human primates, however, evidence of behavioural contagion is currently limited to few Catarrhine species. Here, we investigated whether behavioural contagion is also present in Platyrrhines (i.e. primates from South and Central America), by assessing yawning and scratching contagion in a wild group (N = 49) of Geoffroy’s spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). We conducted focal samples to examine whether individuals observing the triggering event (i.e. a naturally occurring yawning or scratching event in the group) would be more likely to yawn or scratch in the following three minutes, as compared to individuals who did not observe the triggering event. We ran generalized linear mixed models using a Bayesian approach, and found that the probability of yawning and scratching was higher for individuals observing others yawning and scratching, respectively, as compared to individuals who did not observe such an event. However, behavioural contagion did not vary depending on the observer’s sex, kinship or relationship quality with the individual performing the triggering event. These findings provide the first evidence for yawning and scratching contagion in a wild group of spider monkeys, and importantly contribute to the debate about the evolutionary origins of behavioural contagion in primates, which is likely to have emerged before the evolutionary split between Platyrrhines and Catarrhines.

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“Emotional Proximity” and “Spatial Proximity”: Higher Relationship Quality and Nearer Distance Both Strengthen Scratch Contagion in Tibetan Macaques

Cited by 5 publications

References 58 publications

Evidence of behavioral contagion in captive black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra)

Evidence of behavioral contagion in captive black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra)

Yawning and scratching contagion in wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

Behavioural contagion in wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

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