LONDON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) --A new study published in the Journal of the Biology Branch of the Royal Society shows that orangutans will also interact with their peers in a joking way like humans, which may be related to the origin of human cognitive ability to joke with each other.
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles and other institutions in the United States pointed out that joking is an important part of human interaction and requires complex cognitive abilities: understanding social norms, mental activities, reactions of others, etc. Naughty playfulness is present in infancy. Researchers believe that studying the behavior of apes is important to understand human cognition and behavior, but there is still far from enough research.
Researchers studied data from nine bonobos, four orangutans, four gorillas at the San Diego Zoo in the United States, and 17 chimpanzees at the Leipzig Zoo in Germany.
The researchers recorded 504 social interactions between these orangutans over 75 hours. Of these, 142 were classified as naughty teasing, including poking, hitting, hair pulling, obstruction of movement, stealing from companions, etc.
The researchers noted that these behaviors were provocative, generally by looking at the face of the companion after the action, indicating that the provocateur expected a reaction from the companion. If the companion does not respond, these teasers will escalate their behavior, such as poking the companion further. The most important point is that the purpose of these teasing acts is not hostile, but to have fun, and usually takes place in a calm, comfortable environment.
Because playful teasing is present in all extant genera of great apes, the cognitive prerequisites for banning with peers are likely to have evolved at least 13 million years ago, the researchers said.