Adolescence is an age-old challenge, and it appears that even chimpanzee teens aren’t exempt from growing pains. As it turns out, they may be more similar to our own teenagers than we thought. The only real difference? Your teen might have more impulsive behavior!
The American Psychological Association recently published a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General that explored adolescent chimpanzees’ orientation towards risk-taking and impulsivity. For this research, 40 chimps born in their natural habitat were observed at an animal sanctuary in Congo while participating in several games designed to test these traits.
Associate professor of psychology and anthropology at the University of Michigan and lead study author Dr. Alexandra Rosati says, “Human adolescents are grappling with changing bodies and brains, and tend to be more impulsive, risk-seeking, and less able to regulate emotions than adults.”
“Chimpanzees face many of the same kinds of challenges as humans as they grow up,” she said.
In a 50-year life span, chimpanzees experience adolescence between ages 8 and 15. During this time they are subject to the same hormone changes, development of new social bonds, heightened aggression, as well as a drive for higher social standing that young humans often go through.
Dr. Aaron Sandel, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, notes that teen chimpanzees are not often studied the way infants and adults are and that researchers often overlook this part of the chimp’s life cycle.
A recent study discovered that teenage chimpanzees tend to take more risks than their adult counterparts when it comes to playing games, yet they will wait for a greater delayed reward as well.
Humans however are known to be much quicker in taking an instant but lower reward instead of waiting.
Chimpanzee Decision Making
The chimpanzees were subjected to two experiments with food rewards. They have a clear preference for bananas, like peanuts, and do not like cucumbers.
The first experiment involved some amount of risk for the chimpanzee. Adults and teens were asked to make a choice between two containers: one would always be filled with peanuts while the other had either an undesired cucumber or a beloved banana inside.
According to the study, adolescent chimps were more daring when it came to deciding between a cucumber or banana container than their adult counterparts. Furthermore, both groups exhibited similar displeasing responses – like moaning, whimpering, and banging on the table whenever they ended up with a cucumber.
In a replication of the classic test presented to human children, a second test presented a choice – have one banana slice now or wait for one minute and be given three slices.
While both adults and adolescents waited an equal amount of time for their three slices, the adolescent group was more likely to express displeasure after a mere minute had passed.
When faced with a similar test, human adolescents showed more inclination towards taking the smaller treat without delay. Rosati notes, “Prior work indicates that chimpanzees are quite patient compared to other animals, and this study shows that their ability to delay gratification is already mature at a fairly young age, unlike in humans.”
Sandel calls for a note of caution in making comparisons between humans and other animals. Although primates may be our closest relatives they do belong to different species.
