PROBLEM-SOLVING THROUGH THE USE OF CUES AND BY ATTRIBUTION OF INTENTIONALITY TO OTHER INDIVIDUALS AMONG TUFTED CAPUCHINS (Cebus apella)

INTRODUCTION

Increasing importance has been given to social relationships as the source of the progressive development and complexity that characterizes the cognitive abilities observed in many species of primates (Byrne & Whiten, 1988). For individuals living in complex groups, it would be highly advantageous to have the capacity to rapidly and accurately interpret the signals sent by other individuals, as well as to be able to recognize not only the character of the simple social relations established in the group but also second-order social relations (Seyfarth & Cheney, 1988). Among the most interesting social cognition phenomena is the ability to understand second-order intentionality, or perspective-taking, that is, the ability to attribute objectives to the behaviors to other individuals (Mitchell & Thompson, 1986; Parkey, Mitchell & Boccia, 1994).

DOMINANCE HIERARCHY AND RECONCILIATION IN A GROUP OF TUFTED CAPUCHINS

INTRODUCTION

Friendly reunions between former opponents were first observed in a group of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) living in captivity (de Wall and van Roosmalen, 1979). The authors designated such post-conflict reunions “reconciliations”.

It has been stated that reconciliation between former opponents serves to repair the damage that the previous conflict caused to the relationship. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that reconciliation reduces the likelihood that the aggressor will engage in further aggression toward the victim or toward other animals and restores the mutual tolerance between former opponents in terms of sharing food resources. The most obvious short-term effect of aggression is dispersion. However, the mechanism of reconciliation results in a long-term tendency toward reunion after aggressive conflicts (de Waal, 1993).