Even Monkeys Can Sense a Raw Deal

Are animals moral? It’s an ongoing debate, and one that is prone to anthropomorphizing animal behaviors. But scientists have been able to track down cases of moral judgment in certain species. Here’s a pretty hilarious example.

Capuchin monkeys love grapes. But they’ll also eat cucumbers if you give them one. They just really prefer grapes. This team had the monkeys complete a task, simply putting a stone in the handler’s palm, and then they got their food reward. Only they could see what the other monkey was getting. The first round goes fine, and one gets a grape while the other is given only cucumber. Next round? Well, that’s in the video :)

The researchers concluded that the monkeys were, in fact, weighing the deal they got, and responding with feelings of envy and frustration. Even more, when both get cucumbers, they are perfectly happy with that snack! It seems to be all about fairness and cooperation for them. It fits with the social nature of primates, as cooperating groups would be biologically rewarded.

While pretty funny, it definitely shows signs that some of our core emotions may have very basic neurological roots! 

Here’s a link to the full videotaped talk on monkeynomics and moral behavior in animals by Frans de Waal.

(Source: jtotheizzoe)