Release date: Oct. 28, 2005
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Study Finds Chimps Lack Charitable Nature

Chimpanzees and humans share many traits, but when it comes to strangers, chimps aren't likely to lend a helping hand, according to a new study published in the Oct. 27 edition of the journal "Nature." The study was led by the University of California-Los Angeles in conjunction with Emory University anthropologists and researchers from other schools.

The study demonstrates that humanity's closest biological relative does not seem to have evolved the ability to become engaged in the general well-being of others, which raises interesting questions about how altruism developed in humans, says Emory anthropologist Joseph Henrich, a co-author of the "Nature" paper. Sarah Brosnan, an Emory post-doctoral researcher in anthropology, also participated in the study.

"While chimpanzees are known to be cooperative with members of their kin group, and even with other chimps when there is some reciprocity involved, this study shows that when those factors are removed, the chimps go back to being selfish," Henrich says. "You don't find that in humans, which suggests that the ability to care about and work cooperatively with strangers is a result of the coevolution of culture and genes – a product of the last 5 million years since the evolution of humans and chimps separated onto different paths."

UCLA anthropologist Joan Silk, the study's lead author, headed the team of researchers from Emory, the University of Texas and the University of Louisiana as they conducted experiments with two separate groups of chimps.

The experiment gave the animals the opportunity to pull a lever and provide treats for chimps in adjacent cages – without receiving anything in return and at no cost to themselves. More than half the time the chimps pulled the lever that only delivered treats to their cage?

The presence of a potential recipient of the food had no impact on the chimpanzees' choice. The chimps in Louisiana chose this option about 56 percent of the time when another chimp was present and about 58 percent when another chimp was absent. The chimps in Texas chose the option that provided rewards to the other chimp 48 percent of the time, exactly the same percentage of time that they delivered rewards to an empty enclosure. Begging gestures from other chimps had no impact on which lever they chose.

The research received support from the MacArthur Foundation Preferences Network, James S. McDonnell Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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