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Research Article

Spontaneous prosocial choice by chimpanzees

Victoria Horner, J. Devyn Carter, Malini Suchak, and Frans B. M. de Waal
  1. aLiving Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30043; and
  2. bPsychology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322

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PNAS first published August 8, 2011; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1111088108
Victoria Horner
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  • For correspondence: vhorner@emory.edu dewaal@emory.edu
J. Devyn Carter
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Malini Suchak
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Frans B. M. de Waal
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  • For correspondence: vhorner@emory.edu dewaal@emory.edu
  1. Contributed by Frans B. M. de Waal, July 8, 2011 (sent for review May 2, 2011)

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Abstract

The study of human and primate altruism faces an evolutionary anomaly: There is ample evidence for altruistic preferences in our own species and growing evidence in monkeys, but one of our closest relatives, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), is viewed as a reluctant altruist, acting only in response to pressure and solicitation. Although chimpanzee prosocial behavior has been reported both in observational captive studies and in the wild, thus far Prosocial Choice Tests have failed to produce evidence. However, methodologies of previous Prosocial Choice Tests may have handicapped the apes unintentionally. Here we present findings of a paradigm in which chimpanzees chose between two differently colored tokens: one “selfish” token resulting in a reward for the actor only (1/0), and the other “prosocial” token rewarding both the actor and a partner (1/1). Seven female chimpanzees, each tested with three different partners, showed a significant bias for the prosocial option. Prosocial choices occurred both in response to solicitation by the partner and spontaneously without solicitation. However, directed requests and pressure by the partner reduced the actor's prosocial tendency. These results draw into question previous conclusions indicating that chimpanzees have a limited sensitivity to the needs of others and behave prosocially only in response to significant prompting.

  • other-regarding
  • fairness
  • great ape

Footnotes

  • 1To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: vhorner{at}emory.edu or dewaal{at}emory.edu.
  • Author contributions: V.H., J.D.C., and F.B.M.d.W. designed research; V.H. and J.D.C. performed research; V.H., J.D.C., M.S., and F.B.M.d.W. analyzed data; and V.H., M.S., and F.B.M.d.W. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Spontaneous prosocial choice by chimpanzees
Victoria Horner, J. Devyn Carter, Malini Suchak, Frans B. M. de Waal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2011, 201111088; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1111088108

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Spontaneous prosocial choice by chimpanzees
Victoria Horner, J. Devyn Carter, Malini Suchak, Frans B. M. de Waal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2011, 201111088; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1111088108
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