Competition is crucial for social comparison processes in long-tailed macaques

Area of Science:

• Primate behavior
• Comparative psychology
• Social cognition

Background:

• Humans adjust self-evaluation and behavior based on the presence and performance of others.
• Social comparison is a key aspect of human social cognition, influencing individual actions and perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) display human-like social comparison effects.
• To determine if macaque behavior is modulated by the presence, performance, or competitiveness of conspecifics.

Main Methods:

• Monkeys performed a food extraction task, with latency between actions measured.
• Experimental conditions varied conspecific presence, partner's access to the apparatus, and partner's performance.
• Partner's actions were manipulated to be consequential or inconsequential for food availability.

Main Results:

• No evidence was found for social comparison of performance in long-tailed macaques.
• Macaques were not influenced by the mere presence of a conspecific.
• Attention to a partner's actions increased only when those actions directly impacted food availability.

Conclusions:

• Long-tailed macaques do not appear to engage in general social comparison as observed in humans.
• Social comparison in macaques, if present, may be restricted to situations of direct competition for resources.
• Macaque social behavior differs from human social comparison, which extends to non-competitive evaluative contexts.