Animal behaviour: fair refusal by capuchin monkeys.
Brosnan and de Waal report that capuchin monkeys show evidence of a sense of fairness or 'inequity aversion' because they rejected a less preferred reward when they saw a partner monkey receive a preferred reward for the same task. However, this does not show that monkeys are averse to inequity, only that they reject a lesser reward when better rewards are available. There are risks inherent in seeking anthropomorphic explanations for non-human behaviour.
Wynne
Clive D L
CD
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Box 112250, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA. wynne@ufl.edu
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002428:Cebus / Q000502:physiology*; D018553:Cucumis sativus; D005502:Food; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology*; D005716:Game Theory; D006801:Humans; D012201:Reward; D012935:Social Justice; D027843:Vitis