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Mate Choice

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Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 2, 2026

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Published on: November 11, 2011

Do monkeys choose to choose?

Bonnie M Perdue¹, Theodore A Evans, David A Washburn

¹Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, 30030, bonnie.m.perdue@gmail.com.

Learning & Behavior

|February 26, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Monkeys, including capuchin and rhesus species, actively prefer to make choices. Even when task outcomes are the same, animals will seek opportunities to choose task order over computer-assigned sequences.

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Area of Science:

Animal behavior
Cognitive science
Primate studies

Background:

Human preference for choice is well-documented.
Previous research suggests choice preference extends to nonhuman animals.
However, whether animals actively seek choice opportunities remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if capuchin and rhesus monkeys actively prefer to choose.
To determine if animals will seek out opportunities to select task order.

Main Methods:

Utilized a modified SELECT task, a computer program for task order selection.
Monkeys chose between selecting task order or having it assigned by computer.
Ensured equal task and trial numbers, with equated reinforcement rates across conditions.

Main Results:

All monkeys demonstrated a significant preference for choosing task order over random computer assignment.
Some monkeys also preferred choice over a preferred, computer-assigned task order.
This preference persisted when all other task aspects were equalized.

Conclusions:

Monkeys exhibit a clear preference for making choices.
The act of choosing itself is valued by these animals, independent of outcome.
Findings contribute to understanding the fundamental nature of choice preference in nonhuman primates.