Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Links 7/30/2012 ? naked capitalism

Capuchin monkeys show sense of fairness:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/38265675.html

Money quote:

To test whether or not such behavior is found in other species, Brosnan designed an experiment for brown capuchin monkeys, a species well-known for strong social bonds and relatively cooperative behavior, particularly in shared food-gathering activities like hunting squirrels and locating fruit trees.

Individuals were drawn from two large, well-established social groups of captive brown capuchins from colonies at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and paired with a partner. Pairs were placed next to each other and trained to exchange with human handlers a small granite rock within 60 seconds to receive a reward, in most cases, a piece of cucumber.

?That may actually sound simple, but not very many species are willing to relinquish things, especially intentionally,? Brosnan said in a telephone interview. (Think of trying to pry a large bone from a dog?s mouth.)

Only female capuchins were tested because they most closely monitor equity, or fair treatment, among their peers, Brosnan said.

Partners of capuchins who made the swap either received the same reward (a cucumber slice), or a better reward (a grape, a more desirable food), for the same amount of work or, in some cases, for performing no work at all.

Brosnan said the response to the unequal treatment was astonishing: Capuchins who witnessed unfair treatment and failed to benefit from it often refused to conduct future exchanges with human researchers, would not eat the cucumbers they received for their labors, and in some cases, hurled food rewards at human researchers.?

Source: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/07/links-7302012.html

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