title: Bonobos respond to distress in others: consolation across the age spectrum.
abstract: How animals respond to conflict provides key insights into the evolution of socio-cognitive and emotional capacities. Evidence from apes has shown that, after social conflicts, bystanders approach victims of aggression to offer stress-alleviating contact behavior, a phenomenon known as consolation. This other-orientated behavior depends on sensitivity to the other's emotional state, whereby the consoler acts to ameliorate the other's situation. We examined post-conflict interactions in bonobos (Pan paniscus) to identify the determinants of consolation and reconciliation. Thirty-six semi-free bonobos of all ages were observed at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, DR Congo, using standardized Post-conflict/Matched Control methods. Across age and sex classes, bonobos consoled victims and reconciled after conflicts using a suite of affiliative and socio-sexual behaviors including embracing, touching, and mounting. Juveniles were more likely to console than adults, challenging the assumption that comfort-giving rests on advanced cognitive mechanisms that emerge only with age. Mother-reared individuals were more likely to console than orphans, highlighting the role of rearing in emotional development. Consistent with previous studies, bystanders were more likely to console relatives or closely bonded partners. Effects of kinship, affiliation and rearing were similarly indicated in patterns of reconciliation. Nearby bystanders were significantly more likely to contact victims than more distal ones, and consolation was more likely in non-food contexts than during feeding. The results did not provide convincing evidence that bystander contacts served for self-protection or as substitutes for reconciliation. Overall, results indicate that a suite of social, developmental and contextual factors underlie consolation and reconciliation in bonobos and that a sensitivity to the emotions of others and the ability to provide appropriate consolatory behaviors emerges early in development.
authors: Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. zannaclay@emory.edu
authors: Zanna
authors: Z
authors: Clay
authors: Frans B M
authors: FB
authors: de Waal
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003223:Congo; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D019370:Observation; D019974:Pan paniscus / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior
references: Proc Biol Sci. 2011 Feb 22;278(1705):590-8
references: 20810444
references: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1978 Apr;19(2):99-118
references: 670339
references: PLoS One. 2010 May 12;5(5):e10605
references: 20485685
references: Conscious Cogn. 2003 Dec;12(4):717-31
references: 14656513
references: Science. 2006 Mar 3;311(5765):1301-3
references: 16513986
references: PLoS One. 2011;6(7):e22173
references: 21799788
references: Dev Psychobiol. 2009 Mar;51(2):173-85
references: 19016474
references: Child Dev. 1994 Oct;65(5):1405-14
references: 7982358
references: Curr Biol. 2007 Jan 23;17(2):152-8
references: 17240341
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jul 6;107(27):12110-5
references: 20547864
references: Am J Primatol. 1991;23(4):225-237
references: 31952399
references: J Comp Psychol. 2004 Sep;118(3):340-346
references: 15482062
references: Child Maltreat. 2005 May;10(2):150-72
references: 15798010
references: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Apr;7(4):369-79
references: 21467047
references: Behav Brain Sci. 2002 Feb;25(1):1-20; discussion 20-71
references: 12625087
references: Am J Primatol. 2008 Dec;70(12):1114-23
references: 18767113
references: Psychol Bull. 1978 Nov;85(6):1376-1400
references: 104324
references: Primates. 2002 Jul;43(3):223-35
references: 12145403
references: Am J Primatol. 2004 Jan;62(1):15-30
references: 14752810
references: PLoS One. 2010 Aug 27;5(8):e12438
references: 20806062
references: Am J Ment Retard. 2006 Jan;111(1):48-61
references: 16332156
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jun 24;105(25):8557-62
references: 18559863
references: J Comp Psychol. 2010 Aug;124(3):278-86
references: 20695659
references: Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2008 Dec;42(4):354-69
references: 18688688
references: Infant Behav Dev. 2011 Jun;34(3):447-58
references: 21600660
references: Am J Primatol. 2006 Aug;68(8):789-801
references: 16847973
references: Emotion. 2008 Dec;8(6):737-52
references: 19102585
references: Dev Sci. 2012 Nov;15(6):840-53
references: 23106738
references: Curr Biol. 2007 Apr 3;17(7):619-23
references: 17346970
references: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997 Jan 15;807:317-28
references: 9071360
references: Am J Primatol. 2009 May;71(5):409-18
references: 19206165
references: Curr Biol. 2010 Feb 9;20(3):226-30
references: 20116251