Social structure of a colony of Macaca mulatta

Structure and Function in Primate Society

“…The probability, therefore, of access to an incentive appropriate to a m onkey's activated drive m ay be expected to de pend on the degree of dominance exerted by th at monkey.» This quo tation is remarkable in two main respects. Firstly it contradicts the first quotation from Chance [1956] where dominance was observed n o t to influence every aspect of behaviour. Secondly it dem onstrates the circular argum ent common in this field : priority of access defines dominance, dominance gives priority of access.…”

“…Oc casionally even the simplest operational definition has been found inadequate and incompatible with hierarchy theory, bu t even this has led only infrequently to redefinition of the concept. For example, Chance [1956] stated th at «Dominance is usually defined as priority of access to a need-satisfying object. ... but, since in this instance no priority of feeding was shown, it was in the relations of the animals to each other th a t the order of rank was made m anifest.» The develop m ent of the theory of social dominance as the normal structuring mechanism of prim ate societies was perm itted in part by the observa tion of similar rigidities of social behaviour in different species of pri m ate under captive conditions, and the postulation th a t dominance influenced m ost, if not all, aspects of social behaviour.…”

“…... but, since in this instance no priority of feeding was shown, it was in the relations of the animals to each other th a t the order of rank was made m anifest.» The develop m ent of the theory of social dominance as the normal structuring mechanism of prim ate societies was perm itted in part by the observa tion of similar rigidities of social behaviour in different species of pri m ate under captive conditions, and the postulation th a t dominance influenced m ost, if not all, aspects of social behaviour. For example, Chance [1956] concluded th a t «The dominance relations in Macaques as well as Baboons ... are, therefore, conspicuous by being constantly present and influencing every aspect of behaviour. Dominance gives priority of access.…”

“…Car penter [1942] gives details of the high m ortality rate of rhesus mon keys im ported onto Cayo Santiago Island to live in conditions sup posedly similar to the natural habitat. Chance [1956] gives details of the high incidence of disease in the colony of rhesus of which he studied the social structure. He also noted that at the beginning of the study the colony was under stress from a variety of non-social factors including the after-effects of the journey from India, a high incidence of dysentery and infection from tuberculosis.…”

The Structure of Social Space among a Captive Group of Vervet Monkeys

“…The work of Hediger [1955Hediger [ , 1964 and Hall [1965] attracted atten tion among anthropologists but had little impact on the study of animal be havior. Chance [1956] used the term 'social spacing' in his description of rhesus monkeys at the London Zoo. The number of studies in which social proximity has been a major focus is relatively small.…”