title: Kittens as therapists: social behavior sequences in isolated squirrel monkeys after exposure to young nonconspecifics.
abstract: Squirrel monkeys that had been exposed to repeated separations from cloth surrogates were given continuous access to domestic kittens. Information-theoretic measures showed that these monkeys exerted greater constraint on behaviors of adult feral squirrel monkeys than did monkeys who had not received previous kitten exposure. The latter monkeys displayed a behavioral encapsulation characterized by increased susceptibility to the constraint imposed by their own preceding behaviors and a decreased susceptibility to constraint from other monkeys' behaviors. In addition, kitten-reared monkeys displayed a high level of positive social behaviors, particularly following noncohesive or divisive behaviors by another monkey.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002415:Cats; D002427:Cebidae; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D012056:Reinforcement, Social; D012453:Saimiri; D012919:Social Behavior; D012934:Social Isolation