Chimps want to have cake and eat it, too
Chimpanzees are humankind's closest cousins, and
researchers love looking at them for clues to our behavior. But chimps may not
play as nicely as people do.
Chimpanzees are humankind's closest cousins, and researchers love looking at them for clues to our behavior. But chimps may not play as nicely as people do, suggests an experiment led by UCLA anthropologist Joan Silk. Silk's team ran two experiments on nine pairs of unrelated same-sex chimps. The chimps were familiar to one another but unrelated.
In the experiments, the chimps were given a chance to give themselves a food treat, and to also give the same treat to the other chimp sitting nearby in a clearly-visible cage. Or not.
In fact, the researchers report in the current issue of the journal Nature that the chimps pulled the lever to give a treat to their counterpart only about as often as they pulled that same lever when the cage opposite them was empty. In other words, they could care less about their pals.
Finally, an explanation for neo-cons.
Emory University researchers earlier this year reported that chimps do possess a sense of "fairness", rejecting a lousy-tasting cucumber when they see another chimp getting a tasty grape, when both had performed the same task. But chimp fairness only goes so far, says Silk's team. Chimps don't seem to mind when they benefit and somebody else gets stiffed.
First time I ever Image Googled for “Chimp” and “Bush”. I got 531 hits. This was my favorite.
Posted: Tue - November 1, 2005 at 07:23 AM