Skip to main content
Kyoto University » Primatology and Wildlife Research

Search form

CICASP | Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology

  • About CICASP
  • Admissions
    • Graduate Course
    • Application
    • FAQ
    • Other Programs
    • Funding
    • Testimonials
    Stay
  • Research Units
  • People
    • CICASP Staff
    • Students
    • Alumni
    Stay
  • Education

    View: Education

    • Fundamental Lectures
    • Inuyama Nerds
    • Other Educational Events
    • Sci Comm Workshops
    Stay
  • News & Media
    • Announcements
    • Articles
    • Events
    • Interviews
    • Podcasts
    • Publications
    Stay
  • Campus Life
    • Around Inuyama
    • Around Nagoya
    • Festivals
    • On Campus
    Stay
  • Contact
HomeNewsPublications
  • November 24th 2023

    From Cacophony to Symphony: The Harmonious Interplay of Animal Cognition and Communication with Dr. Tecumseh Fitch

    Listen
  • November 5th 2023
    Laura Buck with a Schematic of her research being done at Kyoto University

    Unraveling the Secrets of Cold Adaptation and Hybridization in Primates with Evolutionary Anthropologist Dr. Laura Buck

    Listen
  • October 25th 2023
    urban macaques on motorbike (left) and primatologist Paula Pebsworth (right)

    Exploring Human-Primate Coexistence with Dr. Paula Pebsworth: A Journey from the Vineyards of Napa Valley to the Wilds of Africa, Asia and Beyond

    Listen
  • September 27th 2023

    Change: Primate Populations in an Anthropogenic World with Primatologist and Conservation Biologist Dr. Colin Chapman

    Listen
  • September 27th 2023

    Understanding the Ins and Outs of Tool Use in Capuchin Monkeys with Professor Patricia Izar

    Listen
  • August 8th 2023
    Reggie and undergraduate students at Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

    Exploring Comparative Primate Cognition with Dr. Reggie Gazes and Dr. Ikuma Adachi

    Listen
  • July 20th 2023

    From Gorillas to Elephants: Dr. Ian Redmond on Wildlife Conservation in Africa

    Listen
  • July 19th 2023

    The PrimateCast 83: Journey into the Wild with The Orangutan Conservation Project's Leif Cocks

    Listen
  • July 19th 2023

    The PrimateCast Origins (82): Tarzan meets Darwin in conservation and evolution with conservationist and evolutionary biologist Dr. Fred Bercovitch

    Listen
  • June 9th 2023

    The PrimateCast 81: Born Free USA's Devan Schowe on animal advocacy, ethics, welfare and conservation in the USA

    Listen
  • April 21st 2023

    The PrimateCast Origins (80): Walking with gorillas and Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda's first wildlife veterinarian

    Listen
  • March 29th 2023

    The PrimateCast 79: Dr. Tesla Monson on what teeth can tell us about the life histories and behavior of extinct species (and cool science communication!)

    Listen

The PrimateCast

The PrimateCast - Podcast
Catch interviews from the world of primatology, wildlife science and beyond with The PrimateCast. Available here or on iTunes. Subscribe to our rss feed, add us on iTunes and follow us on social media at Facebook and Twitter @ThePrimateCast. View all Podcasts
Subscribe to The PrimateCast
 
 
iTunes Channel
 

Topics

  • Announcements (23)
  • Articles (3)
  • Events (34)
  • Interviews (1)
  • Podcasts (92)
  • Publications (28)

Recent News

Virtual Open Campus 2025
November 26th 2024
Read More >
International Primatology Lecture 27: Dr. Jörg Ganzhorn
November 8th 2024
Read More >
Mike Huffman Kick Off Retirement event banner
A Kick Off Event: Learning to be a Monkey Part II with Dr. Michael A. Huffman
March 27th 2024
Read More >
View all News ›

Monthly Archive

  • November 2024 (2)
  • March 2024 (1)
  • February 2024 (1)
  • January 2024 (1)
  • November 2023 (2)
  • October 2023 (3)

Follow Us

Cultural style of higher affiliation artificially generated in marmosets

June 16th 2014
Publications
a new study on marmoset behavior

The study was conducted by CICASP’s Dr. Claire Watson as part of her PhD at the University of Stirling, supervised by Dr. Christine Caldwell, seconded by Prof. Hannah Buchanan-Smith.

Evolution of Culture

As humans, we differ in the way we do things, but also in the extent. One type of culture (qualitative culture) is forms of behavior that are present in some societies, but absent in others, for example, the hand-shake when meeting someone new. Another conception of culture (quantitative culture/cultural style) is variations in degree. For example, when two people talk together, in some cultures the typical distance between them is very short, while in others the gap is, in general, very much wider. The evolutionary origins of human culture can be better understood by investigating culture in nonhuman primates.

Potential traditions, group-specific behavioral differences of both qualitative and quantitative types, have been observed in wild primates. However, it is very difficult to determine whether such differences are truly cultural (spread socially), or whether they can be explained solely by within-group shared genetic tendencies, or between-group environmental dissimilarities. If it can be shown in controlled experiments that such behaviour patterns can be spread through social influence, this supports the assumed existence of culture in wild primates.

Novel approach

A huge number of empirical studies have been carried out to investigate transmission of qualitative culture. However, the recent study represents the first experimental study to look into the spread of cultural style within a species of nonhuman primate. An innovative method to examine cultural transmission experimentally – a playback paradigm – was trialed successfully.

The same authors have shown previously that affiliative (‘friendly’) calls made in neighboring social groups are associated with increased affiliation in marmosets. The new study involved simulating even more highly amicable marmosets, situated nearby, by playing a high rate of affiliative calls, for several hours a day. The amount of time marmosets spent in affiliative behaviour outside playback-hours was recorded. The increase in time spent in affiliation from baseline to outside playback-hours was larger for marmosets exposed to affiliative call playback than to control playback. This difference did not persist after all playback ended.

Results are consistent with cultural style having spread via auditory social contagion, through social influence of call playback. The findings support the existence of cultural style in wild primates.

Welfare: Enrichment

This study also demonstrated a novel potential welfare application. Playback of positive, affiliative, calls led marmosets to spend longer in affiliative behaviors, associated with positive welfare, with no increase in behavioural indicators of negative welfare. Auditory playback of positive calls thus represents sensory and non-contact social enrichment for marmosets, with possibilities for use in other captive animals.

Click here to see the original open access article.

Navigation

  • About
  • Program
  • People
  • News & Media
  • Campus Life
  • Contact

Follow Us

^Top

Contact Information

CICASP, Kyoto University (Inuyama Campus), 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan
Phone: +81 (0)568-63-0284
Fax: +81 (0)568-61-1050
Email: cicasp [at] mail2 [dot] adm [dot] kyoto-u [dot] ac [dot] jp

© 2025 Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University