Visual Kin Recognition in Nonhuman Primates: (Pan troglodytes and Macaca mulatta): Inbreeding Avoidance or Male Distinctiveness?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Lisa A. Parr, Emory University; Matthew Heintz, University of Chicago; Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Lincoln Park Zoo; Emily Wroblewski, University of Minnesota
• Language: English
• Date: 2010-11
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2010 American Psychological Association
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Comparative Psychology
• ISSN: 0735-7036
• Volume: 124
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 343
• End Page: 350
• Grant/Funding Information: This investigation was supported by RR-00165 from the NIH/NCRR to the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and R01-MH068791 to Lisa A. Parr. The Yerkes National Primate Research Center is fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.
• Keywords: kin recognition; phenotypic matching; inbreeding; face; male distinctiveness
• Research Categories: Psychology, General

Abstract

Faces provide important information about identity, age, and even kinship. A previous study in chimpanzees reported greater similarity between the faces of mothers and sons compared with mothers and daughters, or unrelated individuals. This was interpreted as an inbreeding avoidance mechanism where females, the dispersing gender, should avoid mating with any male that resembles their mother. Alternatively, male faces may be more distinctive than female faces, biasing attention toward males. To test these hypotheses, chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys matched conspecifics’ faces of unfamiliar mothers and fathers with their sons and daughters. Results showed no evidence of male distinctiveness, rather a cross-gender effect was found: chimpanzees were better matching moms with sons and fathers with daughters. Rhesus monkeys, however, showed an overwhelming bias toward male-distinctiveness. They were faster to learn male faces, performed better on father– offspring and parent–son trials, and were best matching fathers with sons. This suggests that for the rhesus monkey, inbreeding avoidance involves something other than facial phenotypic matching but that among chimpanzees, the visual recognition of facial similarities may play an important role.