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Published on: August 10, 2014
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Tolerant macaque species are less impulsive and reactive
Louise Loyant1, Bridget M Waller2, Jérôme Micheletta3
1Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, King Henry I Street, King Henry Building, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY, UK. louise.loyant@port.ac.uk.
Animal Cognition
|May 28, 2023
Summary
Higher social tolerance in macaques is linked to better inhibitory control, aiding navigation of complex social environments. More tolerant species show less impulsivity and distraction, supporting evolutionary links between sociality and cognitive skills.
Area of Science:
- Primate behavior
- Cognitive evolution
- Social neuroscience
Background:
- Inhibitory control is crucial for social navigation.
- Species with higher social tolerance face greater social uncertainty.
- Evolutionary pressures on inhibitory control remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between social tolerance and inhibitory control in macaques.
- To identify selective forces favoring the evolution of inhibitory control.
Main Methods:
- Compared inhibitory control in three macaque species (Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, M. tonkeana) with differing social tolerance.
- Utilized a battery of validated touchscreen tasks.
- Tested 66 individuals across two institutions.
Main Results:
- Higher social tolerance correlated with enhanced inhibitory control.
- More tolerant species exhibited reduced impulsivity and distraction from conspecific images.
- No association found between social tolerance and reversal learning performance.
Conclusions:
- Results support the hypothesis that socio-cognitive skills evolve to meet social complexity demands.
- Social tolerance may be a key factor driving the evolution of inhibitory control.
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