MODIFICATION OF RECONCILIATION BEHAVIOR THROUGH SOCIAL EXPERIENCE - AN EXPERIMENT WITH 2 MACAQUE SPECIES

Reconciliation, defined as a friendly reunion between former opponents shortly after an aggressive encounter, is common in the stumptail mac aque (Macaca arctoides) but rare in the rhesus macaque (M. mulatta). J uveniles of the two species were cohoused for 5 months, after which th ey were observed with conspecifics only. Control rhesus monkeys, match ed in age and sex to the experimental subjects, went through the same procedure without exposure to the other species. A threefold increase in the proportion of reconciled fights was measured in the rhesus subj ects. The difference emerged gradually during cohousing with the tutor species and was sustained following removal of this species. Other be havior, such as grooming and aggression, decreased over time. It is su ggested that the social attitude of the subjects was affected through contact with a species characterized by a more relaxed dominance style .