Monkeys & Fairness

A fascinating video indicates that monkeys have a basic understanding of fairness - and injustice.

Metallica and Monkeys

A study revealed that cottontop tamarins listened to a variety of music (Bach, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, etc.) but only calmed down when listening to Metallica.

Like in music, in human speech, changing the tone of one's voice, the rhythm, pitch or speed allows one to gauge the emotional state of the speaker. For example, we use long tones for calming a baby while using short tones to indicate seriousness. The study found that monkeys, "interpret rising and falling tones differently than humans."

Marmosets Like Their Quiet Time

Marmosets in a Brazil city park favor quietness - even if it meant losing the best eating spots. On weekdays, marmosets rested far away from traffic, and on Sundays they rested far away from crowds

Monkeys Hate Unfairness

Research found that monkeys are sensitive to reward distribution.

Give two monkeys a cucumber for a simple task is OK. But if one monkey sees his neighbor get a more desirable grape for the same tasl, they become agitated. Also, if the 2nd monkey gets a grape without doing anything, the 1st monkey gets very agitated ... something like resentment or envy. Researchers say the behavior resembles human's repugnance to current Wall Street bonuses.