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Related Concept Videos

Altruism01:03

Altruism

Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
Nonconscious Mimicry01:13

Nonconscious Mimicry

Nonconscious mimicry occurs when individuals alter their mannerisms to match the behaviors and expressions of those nearby, without intention.
Bystander Effect02:09

Bystander Effect

The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.
Persuasion Strategies01:52

Persuasion Strategies

Researchers have tested many persuasion strategies, including the foot-in-the door and the door-in-the-face techniques, in a variety of contexts. Ultimately, the principles are effective in selling products and changing people’s attitude, ideas, and behaviors (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).
Egoism and Altruism01:55

Egoism and Altruism

Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems
08:42

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

Chimpanzees help each other upon request.

Shinya Yamamoto1, Tatyana Humle, Masayuki Tanaka

  • 1Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan. yamamoto@darwin.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Plos One
|October 15, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Chimpanzees exhibit altruistic helping, particularly when a partner requests assistance. This targeted helping occurs even without immediate reciprocation, highlighting the role of requests in motivating prosocial behavior.

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Area of Science:

  • Primate behavior
  • Evolutionary psychology
  • Comparative cognition

Background:

  • Altruism evolution is primarily studied from ultimate perspectives.
  • Proximate mechanisms of altruistic behavior in chimpanzees remain underexplored.
  • Previous studies showed chimpanzees help human experimenters, but the role of conspecific communication is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate proximate factors influencing targeted helping in chimpanzees.
  • Examine the role of communicative interactions and requests in chimpanzee altruism.
  • Compare altruistic behaviors between chimpanzees and humans.

Main Methods:

  • A tool transfer paradigm was used with paired chimpanzees in adjacent booths.
  • Two tool-use situations (stick and straw) were presented with non-corresponding tools.
  • Spontaneous tool transfers were observed and analyzed based on requests and reciprocation.

Main Results:

  • Chimpanzees spontaneously transferred tools to partners in need.
  • Tool transfers predominantly occurred following the recipient's request.
  • Helping persisted even without the expectation of immediate reciprocation.

Conclusions:

  • Chimpanzees demonstrate altruistic helping without direct personal gain or immediate reciprocation.
  • Requests serve as a proximate mechanism motivating prosocial behavior in chimpanzees.
  • Unlike humans, chimpanzees rarely exhibit voluntary altruism, suggesting limited understanding of others' desires without explicit signals.