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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

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

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

Published on: May 5, 2015

Potent social learning and conformity shape a wild primate's foraging decisions.

Erica van de Waal¹, Christèle Borgeaud, Andrew Whiten

¹Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|April 27, 2013

Summary

Wild vervet monkeys conform to new group food preferences, demonstrating social learning overrides individual choices. This highlights culture

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Area of Science:

Behavioral Ecology
Primatology
Animal Social Learning

Background:

Culture significantly influences human behavior through conformity to local norms.
While lab studies suggest animal conformity, wild evidence is limited.
Understanding wild animal social learning is crucial for explaining group differences.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally investigate conformity to novel group norms in wild vervet monkeys.
To assess the role of social learning in shaping foraging preferences in a wild primate population.

Main Methods:

Vervet monkey groups were trained to avoid a bitter-tasting food.
Food options were presented later to assess learned preferences in naive infants and migrating males.
Behavioral choices were recorded to determine adherence to group norms versus personal experience.

Main Results:

Naïve infants adopted their mothers' food preferences, indicating social transmission.
Migrating males switched their foraging choices to match the new group's established food norm.
Wild vervet monkeys demonstrated a strong tendency to conform to unfamiliar group behavioral norms.

Conclusions:

Social learning, specifically conformity, is a powerful force in wild vervet monkeys.
Conformity to group norms can override individual foraging experience.
This study provides strong experimental evidence for culture shaping wild animal behavior.