From their first months of life, human babies begin to do this jokes. But they are not the only animals capable of this. An international team of biologists and primatologists has identified 18 behaviors jokes otherwise great apes.
The joke It is a fundamental part of human interactions. This behavior is based on social intelligence, the ability to anticipate future actions and the ability to recognize the expectations of others.
In infants it occurs before they utter their first words, with repetitive provocations that often involve surprise. Children tease their parents by offering and taking objects from them, violating social norms – provocatively called non-compliance – and disrupting the activities of others.
This is evident from a study published today in the magazine Trial of the Royal Society B it turns out that in the case of gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutanswe not only have similar genetics and a similar evolutionary past, but also the same joking behavior.
“Las jokes “Playful and fun behavior has been well studied in human infants, but not in our closest relatives,” he explains. Isabelle Laumer, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany and first author of the study. “Our results support the idea that in the great apes It is provocative, intentional and often playful behavior.”
“Just like boys and girls, this is the case with these species jokes include the responsive look (the a monkey looks at the target after showing a funny action), repetition and elaboration of the behavior (they perform different behavior if the target does not respond or responds minimally), elements of surprise and usually take place in a relaxed context,” he adds.
“Pranksters often repeatedly waved or waved a body part or object in the center of the target’s field of vision, punched or poked the target, stared at the target’s face, stopped the target’s movements, pulled the target’s hair or did other things. which are extremely difficult to ignore,” he says. Erica Karmolenprofessor at the University of California, Los Angeles and lead author of the study.
Nearly twenty different teasing behaviors in great apes
The team analyzed several spontaneous social interactions while observing the actions, body movements and facial expressions of the animal pulling the prank, and how the victims of their pranks responded in turn. jokes.
The experts also evaluated the intentionality of the joke by looking for evidence that the behavior was directed toward a specific goal, that it continued or intensified, and that the great apes Those who took advantage of this provocation expected a response at this point.
They identified 18 species joke different, many of them to provoke a response or at least get the target’s attention. “The jokes in the great apes “They are not limited to a few actions typical of the species, but can take many forms, perhaps with varying levels of playful and aggressive elements,” says Laumer.
Big monkey jokes, an evolution of 13 million years
The researchers noted that Jane Goodall and other primatologists had reported similar behavior in chimpanzees many years ago, but this new study is the first to systematically examine the jokes of a playful nature.
“From an evolutionary point of view, this study suggests that playful pranks and its cognitive requirements may have been present in our last common ancestor at least 13 million years ago,” says Laumer.
“To unravel the evolution of humor in our species, we also plan to study mocking and playful behavior in other species. We also hope that this research will raise awareness about the similarities we share with our closest relatives and the importance of protecting them great apes threatened with extinction,” he concludes.