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Social interactions of monkeys reared in a nuclear family environment versus monkeys reared with mothers and peers

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Abstract

Four-year-old laboratory-born rhesus monkeys that had been reared in a nuclear family social environment consisting of mothers, fathers, siblings, peers, and other adults of both sexes were permitted to interact in various combinations with equal-aged monkeys that had been reared in an environment consisting of only mothers and peers. It was found that in most interaction sessions nuclear family subjects exhibited significantly higher levels of dominance and activity behaviors and significantly lower levels of submissive and passive behaviors than the mother-peer-reared subjects. These differences were not evident when subjects were tested within their own rearing groups. The significance of the results with respect to previous and future studies of social development in differential social environments is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Primate Laboratory, University of Wisconsin, 22 North Charter Street, 53706, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Stephen J. Suomi

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  1. Stephen J. Suomi
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Additional information

This research was supported by grant No. MH-11894 from the National Institute of Mental Health to the University of Wisconsin Primate Laboratory, by the Grant Foundation, and by grant No. RR-0167 from the National Institutes of Health to the University of Wisconsin Primate Research Center.

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Suomi, S.J. Social interactions of monkeys reared in a nuclear family environment versus monkeys reared with mothers and peers. Primates 15, 311–320 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01791668

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01791668

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