Fights and friendship in the group
In humans, aggression is often seen as a bad natural inclination and being friendly more as civilized behavior. If this is the case, then monkeys must be very civilized indeed! In monkey groups, friendly behavior has been shown to be far more prevalent than aggressive behaviors. New research indicates that not only aggression, but also being friendly provides benefits for their biological fitness. Monkeys combine these seemingly opposed behaviors in their social life, suggesting that both friendly and aggressive behaviors in humans have old evolutionary roots.
Liesbeth Sterck is professor of Ecological Determinants of Behaviour at Utrecht University. She is also Section Head of Ethology at the Biomedical Primate Research Center in Rijswijk. These two positions make her work leading in the area of research into the social behavior of primates. She has cooperated with Frans de Waal and Carel van Schaik, among others, and has received various grants, including a Vidi grant of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
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