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The Innovation Arena: A Method for Comparing Innovative Problem-Solving Across Groups

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Spontaneous prosocial choice by chimpanzees.

Victoria Horner¹, J Devyn Carter, Malini Suchak

¹Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30043, USA. vhorner@emory.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|August 10, 2011

Summary

Chimpanzees demonstrate prosocial behavior, choosing to share rewards with others. This challenges previous views of chimpanzees as reluctant altruists, showing they act spontaneously and not just under pressure.

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Area of Science:

Primate behavior
Evolutionary psychology
Comparative cognition

Background:

Human and primate altruism presents an evolutionary puzzle, with evidence for altruism in humans and monkeys, but not consistently in chimpanzees.
Previous Prosocial Choice Tests have yielded limited evidence for chimpanzee altruism, potentially due to methodological limitations.
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are often perceived as reluctant altruists, acting primarily under solicitation or pressure.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate chimpanzee prosocial tendencies using a novel Prosocial Choice Test paradigm.
To determine if chimpanzees exhibit altruistic preferences spontaneously or only when prompted.
To re-evaluate conclusions about chimpanzee sensitivity to others' needs and motivations for prosocial behavior.

Main Methods:

A Prosocial Choice Test was developed where chimpanzees selected between a 'selfish' (1/0) and a 'prosocial' (1/1) token.
Seven female chimpanzees were tested individually with three different partners.
Chimpanzee choices were recorded in response to partner solicitation and spontaneously.

Main Results:

Chimpanzees showed a significant bias towards selecting the prosocial token, indicating a preference for sharing rewards.
Prosocial choices were observed both spontaneously and when partners solicited help.
Partner requests and pressure paradoxically decreased the actor's prosocial tendency.

Conclusions:

Chimpanzees exhibit genuine prosocial preferences, challenging the notion that they are reluctant altruists.
The findings suggest chimpanzees possess a greater sensitivity to others' needs than previously concluded.
Methodological improvements in testing paradigms are crucial for accurately assessing primate prosociality.