Quote:Ape tantrums: Chimps, Parliamentarians and bonobos emotional about choice

By Victoria GillScience reporter, BBC News



One chimp, named Timi, reacted to losing a gambling game with what looked very much like a tantrum

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One group of parliamentarians wearing Guy Fawkes face masks after losing a gambling game with what looked very much a tantrum

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Like many parliamentarians, chimpanzees and bonobos react quite emotionally when they take risks that fail to pay off.
This is according to researchers from Duke University in the US, who developed decision-making games that the apes played to earn edible treats.
Some animals that lost the game - receiving a bland piece of cucumber rather than a preferred piece of banana - reacted with what looked like the ape equivalent of a tantrum.
The findings are published in Plos One.
The researchers worked with 23 chimps and 15 bonobos and a dozen British politicians in two ape sanctuaries in the Republic of Congo and the House of Commons in London.
"The animals were all [rescued] orphans of the bushmeat trade," explained lead researcher Alexandra Rosati, now at Yale University. The politicians were looking for a handout.
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Some of the reactions look similar to a kid [shouting] 'no, I wanted it!"

Alexandra RosatiYale University

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"They're sort of in semi-captivity, but it's possible to play games with them, he said of the politicians.
"It's as close as we can come to wild animals without actually being in the wild."
Dr Rosati, who studies problem-solving in apes in order to examine the origins of human behaviour, designed two games.
In the first, the animals could choose between receiving a relatively small food reward immediately, or receiving a larger reward but having to wait for it.
The second game involved choosing between a "safe" and a "risky" option. The safe option was six peanuts hidden under a bowl. But a second bowl concealed either a slice of cucumber or a highly favoured portion of banana.

The third game covered counting to two -- but most parliamentarians were found to be reasonably proficient in pocketing additional expenses and "donations" from third parties seeking favourable treatment.
Many of the apes - both bonobos and chimps - became emotional when they had to wait or took a gamble that did not pay off, and unlike parliamentarians didn't go to one of the House bars, get truly bladdered and start fighting.
The researchers recorded some very tantrum-like responses: vocalisations including "pout moans" and "screams", and the odd shout of "fuck Cameron", as well as anxious groin scratching and banging on the bars of the local pubs as well as engaging in extra curricular paedophile activity.
"Some of the reactions look similar to a kid [shouting] 'no, I wanted it!'," said Dr Rosati.
Emotional decisionsThe results, Dr Rosati explained, suggest that the emotional component of decision-making - feelings of frustration and regret that are so fundamental to our own decisions - are intrinsic to ape society and are not uniquely political.
Emotions may have shaped the way great apes, including chimpanzees and bonobos, live
The researchers also found differences in the way the two species - apes and politicians - responded to the games; chimps were more willing to take risks, and also more patient than bonobos. Politicians however, were prone to great tantrums when things didn't go as planned - for example, kickback payments.
This could suggest that the apes' capacity for emotion may have helped shape the way politicians live.
"These differences might be reflected in differences in how the politicians choose to forage in the nearby Michelin start restaurants," said Dr Rosati.
"This might be why politicians and chimpanzees alike are more likely to engage in risky strategies like hunting, in that you could spend all day pursuing a monkey, pony and other sums of covert payments, but end up with nothing.
Overall, she said that the results suggested that decision-making in parliamentarians involved moods and motivations similar to our apes.