Bonobo Experience

Was great after people got relaxed and able to connect with one another. A learning for me was that these men had just finished work and we not in a festival. Therefore they we very timid about the playfulness of the content. Then however we had to slow them down because it moved into a very sexual space that we had not accounted for. It was very hard to get them to respond to our program after that. If we run it again we could move more into the sexual. Or we could craft a better massage workshop.

Food sharing in bonobos: Tolerant sharing in a despotic society

The study of food sharing in apes can provide an interesting perspective on the evolution of altruism in early hominids. Sharing food can be an altruistic behaviour, entailing costs to food-owners and benefits to others,, but several alternative hypotheses have been proposed. For example, when food is shared between kin, kinship selection is at play. Chimpanzees often share food under pressure of their group members (harassment hypothesis). The reciprocal altruism hypothesis assumes that apes use mental bookkeeping: they may remember who groomed them and reward grooming effort by access to food, possibly following predictions of biological market models. Alternatively, apes could share food based on simple rules of thumb by sharing mostly with group members that are most similar to them (similarity hypothesis). Previous studies have focussed mainly on chimpanzees, and studies on bonobos are rare and often more descriptive. Moreover, different studies differ in kinds of food offered to the apes, in definitions used to describe patterns of food sharing, and in type of analysis. Here we used a test paradigm previously used for bonobos and chimpanzees in a new group of bonobos at Planckendael Wild Animal Park, Belgium. The first author studied the group of 6 adult and 2 immature bonobos for 295 hours in August and September 2010. First, bonobos were observed under standard feeding regime, with four feedings per day and no attempts to induce food sharing. Second, food was provided in large paper bags twice a day. Third, large bundles of willow were provided daily in addition to normal feeding regimes. Our results show that the dominance hierarchy in this group was very linear and strict. In contrast to expectations based on previous research, food sharing was very tolerant, with mostly relaxed food transfers, and no negative responses of food owners to approachers. This finding argues against the “harassment hypothesis”. Food sharing was however influenced by kinship: kin shared more frequently and more successfully than non-kin. In line with expectations of the biological market models for despotic groups, food was not exchanged reciprocally, but bonobos gave more food to group members that groomed them longer. In conclusion, we found that bonobos share more with group members that groom them longer as expected by biological market theory. However, sharing was more tolerant than previously reported, and it was influenced by kinship. This may be due to differences in group composition and/or personalities of the individuals involved in the study, effects that are possibly enlarged by small sample sizes.

RESPONDING TO BOLD TEXT It is really encouraging to learn that bonobos don’t fight and share food openly. That also share more with others that groom them.

OXYTOCIN INCREASES TRUST IN HUMANS

Michael Kosfeld, Markus Heinrichs, Paul J Zak, Urs Fischbacher, Ernst Fehr

Nature 435 (7042), 673, 2005

Trust pervades human societies 1, 2. Trust is indispensable in friendship, love, families and organizations, and plays a key role in economic exchange and politics 3. In the absence of trust among trading partners, market transactions break down. In the absence of trust in a country’s institutions and leaders, political legitimacy breaks down. Much recent evidence indicates that trust contributes to economic, political and social success 4, 5. Little is known, however, about the biological basis of trust among humans. Here we show that intranasal administration of oxytocin, a neuropeptide that plays a key role in social attachment and affiliation in non-human mammals 6, 7, 8, causes a substantial increase in trust among humans, thereby greatly increasing the benefits from social interactions. We also show that the effect of oxytocin on trust is not due to a general increase in the readiness to bear risks. On the contrary, oxytocin specifically affects an individual’s willingness to accept social risks arising through interpersonal interactions. These results concur with animal research suggesting an essential role for oxytocin as a biological basis of prosocial approach behaviour.

My response:

My research specifically uses touch, cuddling and affection to foster feelings of trust bonding and belonging. This research is important because it strengthens my argument that people need physical contact, whether that’s non-sexual or sexual in order to build strong relationships that they can feel safe within. my action research has provided me with feedback and data to confirm that people feel and overwhelming sense of togetherness, whilst being cared for by the rest of the group. The workshops take the form of night and day where participants are able to experienceSleeping with one another in groups over night and waking up together. It is important that I communicate the need for the trip to be in for contact with one another so no one is left alone. This reinforcement of togetherness opens feelings of group compassion.

This is an opposing view that attacks sex and Dawn. He consistently refers to females needing resources from males. This is because males have betrayed females and taken all the resources for themselves. Further on in the video he begins to backtrack on he’s position to Sex at dawn, the book.

This video by Dr Christopher Ryan, co-author of Ses at Dawn encapsulates my fascination with bonobos. It explains why our species finds it difficult to be monogamous and why shame for thinking about sex so damaging for us due to our heritage as a very sexualised species. It’s not since the agricultural revolution however this video by Dr Christopher Ryan encapsulates my fascination with bonobos. It explains why our species finds it difficult to be monogamous and wise shame for thinking about sex so damaging for us due to our heritage as a very sexualised species. Monogamy emerged due to property rights and the agricultural revolution. Females missed out hugely on the Agricultural revelation. The most powerful and ruthless would’ve stolen everything land, property. This would give rise to warfare and conflict. But not let’s not forget we are capable of being more like bonobos than we realise.