Ethological Approaches to Empathy in Primates

Clay, Zanna; Palagi, Elisabetta; Waal, Frans de

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-805397-3.00005-x

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…RFM is an automatic, congruent and fast response (less than 1 s) in which individuals involuntary mimic others' expressions (Davila-Ross et al 2008;Palagi et al 2015;Scopa and Palagi 2016;Taylor et al 2019). Recent studies have highlighted a covariance between the presence of motor resonance phenomena (e.g., rapid mimicry) and the level of tolerance, affiliation and familiarity shared by the interacting subjects (the so-called empathic-gradient hypothesis, de Waal and Preston, 2017;Clay et al, 2018). These social features influence play modality as demonstrated by the studies on macaques.…”

Section: Prediction 2 -Presence Of Rapid Facial Mimicry (Rfm) and Relmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing playful mood: rapid facial mimicry in Suricata suricatta

Palagi

Marchi

Cavicchio³

et al. 2019

Anim Cogn

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One of the most productive behavioural domains to study visual communication in mammals is social play. The ability to manage play-fighting interactions can favour the development of communicative modules and their correct decoding. Due to their high levels of social cohesion and cooperation, slender-tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are a very good model to test some hypotheses on the role of facial communication in synchronizing playful motor actions. We found that the relaxed open mouth (ROM), a playful facial expression conveying a positive mood in several social mammals, is also present in meerkats. ROM was mainly perceived during dyadic playful sessions compared to polyadic ones. We also found that meerkats mimic in a very rapid and automatic way the ROM emitted by playmates (Rapid Facial Mimicry, RFM). RFM was positively correlated with the relationship quality shared by subjects thus suggesting that the mimicry phenomenon is socially modulated. Moreover, more than the mere presence of isolated ROMs, the presence of at RFM prolonged the duration of the play session. Through RFM animals can share the emotional mood they are experiencing and this appears to be particularly adaptive in those species whose relationships are not inhibited by rank rules and when animals build and maintain their bonds through social affiliation. The meerkat society is cohesive and cooperative. Such features could have therefore favoured the evolution of facial mimicry, a phenomenon linked to emotional contagion, one of the most basic forms of empathy.

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Section: Prediction 2 -Presence Of Rapid Facial Mimicry (Rfm) and Relmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing playful mood: rapid facial mimicry in Suricata suricatta

Palagi

Marchi

Cavicchio³

et al. 2019

Anim Cogn

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“…Contagious yawning has been taken as indicative of empathy, or at the very least as evidence for emotional contagion (e.g. Palagi et al, 2014aPalagi et al, , 2014bNorscia and Palagi, 2011;Clay et al, 2018). In a broad sense, yawn contagion is considered as a form of mimicry (Yoon and Tennie, 2010; see Table 1 for definitions of mimicry and behavioural contagion).…”

Section: Mimicry Does Not Equal Emotional Contagionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consolation is defined as unsolicited offering of positive, affective behaviour to another individual that has been a target of aggression (de Waal and van Roosmalen, 1979). Since its early description in chimpanzees, this topic has taken an iconic position in animal empathy research (empathy broadly defined as in the Russian doll model) and it has become the prime example of inferring the presence of sympathy (de Waal, 2008;Palagi et al, 2014b;Romero et al, 2010;Clay et al, 2018). The reason for its iconic status is that it is thought to be a clear case of other-oriented response, which aims to improve the recipient's welfare and, to do so, the subject must be able to suppress its own initial, vicarious emotional state.…”

Section: Measuring Sympathy Through Consolation and Targeted Helpingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in the comparative study of empathy and related phenomena in animals

Adriaense

Koski

Huber

et al. 2020

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

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The aim of this review is to discuss recent arguments and findings in the comparative study of empathy. Based on a multidisciplinary approach including psychology and ethology, we review the non-human animal literature concerning theoretical frameworks, methodology, and research outcomes. One specific objective is to highlight discrepancies between theory and empirical findings, and to discuss ambiguities present in current data and their interpretation. In particular, we focus on emotional contagion and its experimental investigation, and on consolation and targeted helping as measures for sympathy. Additionally, we address the feasibility of comparing across species with behavioural data alone. One main conclusion of our review is that animal research on empathy still faces the challenge of closing the gap between theoretical concepts and empirical evidence. To advance our knowledge, we propose to focus more on the emotional basis of empathy, rather than on possibly ambiguous behavioural indicators, and we provide suggestions to overcome the limitations of previous research.

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“…Similarly, we have found no claims for empathy in carnivorans, except that Romero, Ito, Saito, and Hasegawa (2014) have observed contagious yawning in wolves. However, there is copious and longstanding evidence for it in chimpanzees, both from formal experimental tasks and in more natural social situations (see the review by Clay, Palagi, & de Waal, 2018); it has not, apparently, been studied in dolphins. Spontaneous helping behavior has also been reported in chimpanzees (Greenberg, Hamann, Warneken, & Tomasello, 2010); it is widely claimed anecdotally in dolphins, but formal demonstrations are lacking.…”

Section: The Comparative Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

In what sense are dogs special? Canine cognition in comparative context

Lea

Osthaus

2018

Learn Behav

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The great increase in the study of dog cognition in the current century has yielded insights into canine cognition in a variety of domains. In this review, we seek to place our enhanced understanding of canine cognition into context. We argue that in order to assess dog cognition, we need to regard dogs from three different perspectives: phylogenetically, as carnivoran and specifically a canid; ecologically, as social, cursorial hunters; and anthropogenically, as a domestic animal. A principled understanding of canine cognition should therefore involve comparing dogs’ cognition with that of other carnivorans, other social hunters, and other domestic animals. This paper contrasts dog cognition with what is known about cognition in species that fit into these three categories, with a particular emphasis on wolves, cats, spotted hyenas, chimpanzees, dolphins, horses, and pigeons. We cover sensory cognition, physical cognition, spatial cognition, social cognition, and self-awareness. Although the comparisons are incomplete, because of the limited range of studies of some of the other relevant species, we conclude that dog cognition is influenced by the membership of all three of these groups, and taking all three groups into account, dog cognition does not look exceptional.

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Ethological Approaches to Empathy in Primates

Cited by 22 publications

References 60 publications

Sharing playful mood: rapid facial mimicry in Suricata suricatta

Sharing playful mood: rapid facial mimicry in Suricata suricatta

Challenges in the comparative study of empathy and related phenomena in animals

In what sense are dogs special? Canine cognition in comparative context

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