Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Scratching Our Heads: Rethinking Social Anxiety in Vervets (Chlorocebus aethiops)

  • Published:
International Journal of Primatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Numerous conflicting results exist in the primate literature regarding the role of dominant individuals in creating conditions of social anxiety. Self-directed behaviors (SDB) have been used as an indicator of increased anxiety in primates to examine the effects of social stimuli such as dominance and association. This study recorded SDB from 11 free-ranging female vervets in the semi-arid Klein Karoo region of South Africa for a total of 468 focal hours to determine whether anxiety was influenced by the hierarchical rank of, and degree of association with, neighboring monkeys. Associates were dyads that spent long periods of time together, i.e., proximity sociality index scores in the top 40% of all scores, and nonassociate dyads spent very little time together, i.e., scores within the bottom 40% of all scores. Rates of SDB were significantly higher when dominant neighbors were nonassociates vs. associates. The rate of SDB when neighbors were dominant associates vs. subordinate associates did not differ. These findings indicate that anxiety is influenced to a greater extent by the degree of association with neighboring monkeys than by hierarchical rank. Measurement of multiple social variables can elucidate the relative contributions of the variables to changes in SDB and demonstrate how the variables interact, thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of conditions leading to changes in social anxiety.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altmann, J. (1974). Observational study of behavior – sampling methods. Behavior, 49(3–4), 227–267.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aureli, F., & Van Schaik, C. (1991). Post-conflict behavior in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis): II. Coping with the uncertainty. Ethology, 89(2), 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aureli, F., Preston, S., & De Waal, F. (1999). Heart rate responses to social interactions in free-moving rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): a pilot study. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 113(1), 59–64.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bergman, T. J., Beehner, J. C., Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (2003). Hierarchical classification by rank and kinship in baboons. Science, 302, 1234–1236.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Castles, D., & Whiten, A. (1998). Postconflict behavior of wild olive baboons – II. Stress and self-directed behavior. Ethology, 104(2), 148–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castles, D., Whiten, A., & Aureli, F. (1999). Social anxiety, relationships and self-directed behavior among wild female olive baboons. Animal Behavior, 58(6), 1207–1215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (1983). Nonrandom dispersal in free-ranging vervet monkeys: social and genetic consequences. The American Naturalist, 122(3), 392–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cords, M. (1997). Friendships, alliances, reciprocity and repair (pp. 24–49). In A. Whiten & R. W. Byrne (Eds.), Machiavellian intelligence II: Extensions and evaluations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel, J., dos Santos, A., & Vicente, L. (2008). Correlates of self-directed behaviors in captive Cercopithecus aethiops. International Journal of Primatology, 29(5), 1219–1226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, M., Penke, Z., & van Hooff, J. (1998). Postconflict affiliation and stress-related behavior of long-tailed macaque aggressors. International Journal of Primatology, 19(1), 53–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David, H. A. (1988). The method of paired comparisons. London: C Griffin.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Vries, H., Stevens, J., & Vervaecke, H. (2006). Measuring and testing the steepness of dominance hierarchies. Animal Behavior, 71(3), 585–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kutsukake, N. (2003). Assessing relationship quality and social anxiety among wild chimpanzees using self-directed behavior. Behavior, 140, 1153–1171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maestripieri, D., Schino, G., Aureli, F., & Troisi, A. (1992). A modest proposal: displacement activities as an indicator of emotions in primates. Animal Behavior, 44(5), 967–979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manson, J., & Perry, S. (2000). Correlates of self-directed behavior in wild white-faced capuchins. Ethology, 106(4), 301–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDougall, P., Forshaw, N., Barrett, L., & Henzi, S. P. (2010). Leaving home: responses to water depletion by vervet monkeys. Journal of Arid Environments, 74, 924–927.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G. (1997). Protean primates: The evolution of adaptive unpredictability in competition and courtship (pp. 312–340). In A. Whiten & R. W. Byrne (Eds.), Machiavellian intelligence II: Extensions and evaluations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schino, G., & Aureli, F. (2008). Trade-offs in primate grooming reciprocation: testing behavioral flexibility and correlated evolution. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 95(3), 439–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schino, G., Maestripieri, D., Scucchi, S., & Turillazzi, P. G. (1990). Social tension in familiar and unfamiliar pairs of long-tailed macaques. Behavior, 113(3–4), 264–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schino, G., Perretta, G., Taglioni, A., Monaco, V., & Troisi, A. (1996). Primate displacement activities as an ethopharmacological model of anxiety. Depression and Anxiety, 2(4), 186–191.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seyfarth, R. M. (1980). The distribution of grooming and related behaviours among adult female vervet monkeys. Animal Behavior, 28(3), 798–813.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, J. B. (2002a). The form and function of reconciliation in primates. Annual Review of Anthropology, 31(1), 21–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, J. B. (2002b). Practice random acts of aggression and senseless acts of intimidation: the logic of status contests in social groups. Evolutionary Anthropology, 11(6), 221–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, J. B., Altmann, J., & Alberts, S. C. (2006a). Social relationships among adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus) I. Variation in the strength of social bonds. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 61, 183–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, J. B., Altmann, J., & Alberts, S. C. (2006b). Social relationships among adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus) II. Variation in the quality and stability of social bonds. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 61, 197–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spruijt, B., Van Hooff, J., & Gispen, W. (1992). Ethology and neurobiology of grooming behavior. Physiological Reviews, 72(3), 825–852.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sterck, E., Watts, D., & van Schaik, C. (1997). The evolution of female social relationships in nonhuman primates. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 41(5), 291–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Struhsaker, T. T. (1967). Social structure among vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). Behaviour, 29(2/4), 83–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Troisi, A. (2002). Displacement activities as a behavioural measure of stress in nonhuman primates and human subjects. Stress, 5(1), 47–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Mark and Sarah Tompkins for permission to work on their property. Dr. Parry Clarke, Nicola Forshaw, April Takahashi, Nicole Whale, and David McCaffrey provided valuable assistance in the field, and many stimulating discussions. Louise Barrett, Peter Henzi, and 2 anonymous reviewers provided valuable feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. I also thank Caroline Mullins for her assistance with this project and Bruce Raphael for the title. This project is funded by NSERC (Canada), NRF (South Africa), and UNISA grants to L. Barrett, S. P. Henzi, and L. Brown.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavior and Evolution Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K-3M4, Canada

    Petra McDougall

  2. Applied Behavioral Ecology and Ecosystems Research Unit (ABEERU), University of South Africa, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

    Petra McDougall

Authors
  1. Petra McDougall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Petra McDougall.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McDougall, P. Scratching Our Heads: Rethinking Social Anxiety in Vervets (Chlorocebus aethiops). Int J Primatol 32, 335–345 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-010-9471-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-010-9471-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation