Monkey see, monkey feel? Marmoset reactions towards conspecifics' arousal.

ABSTRACT: Consolation has been observed in several species, including marmoset monkeys, but it is often unclear to what extent they are empathy-based. Marmosets perform well in at least two of three components of empathy-based consolation, namely understanding others and prosociality, but it is unknown to what extent they show matching with others. We, therefore, tested whether non-aroused individuals would become aroused themselves when encountering an aroused group member (indicated by piloerection of the tail). We found a robust contagion effect: group members were more likely to show piloerection themselves after having encountered an aroused versus relaxed conspecific. Moreover, group members offered consolation behaviours (affiliative approaches) towards the aroused fellow group members rather

SUBMITTER: de Oliveira Terceiro FE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8548797 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature