Scientists have discovered signs of rational thinking in chimpanzees

A recent international study by scientists from the Universities of Utrecht and Carlos III in Madrid found that chimpanzees and bonobos build their social bonds in the same way as humans. By analyzing social courtship, they learned that both primate species have social circles. This was reported by Science X magazine on October 31.

As a rule, people have their own narrow circle of close friends and family, followed by more peripheral circles of friends, distant friends, acquaintances and almost strangers. For a long time, it remained unclear whether this pattern was unique only to humans.

The lead author of the study, Edwin van Leeuwen, and his colleagues analyzed social grooming in 24 groups of chimpanzees and bonobos, one of the main ways of social identity in great apes. Subsequently, a mathematical model was used to study how animals distribute limited social resources among group members.

According to the results, most monkeys concentrate intensive care on several partners, maintaining weaker bonds with many others. It resembles human "friendship layers". As in human social media, monkeys became more selective in larger groups.

In addition, the researchers were able to identify differences between chimpanzees and bonobos. Bonobos proved to be more equal, as they distributed their care time more evenly among the group members. The chimpanzees, in turn, invested more time in fewer partners.

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As people get older, their inner circle decreases, and they begin to interact with fewer people, but more intensively. New data shows that chimpanzees also become more selective as they age. Bonobos, however, do not show such an age-related narrowing of their inner circle.

"Our results show that the fundamental rules governing the distribution of social efforts by individuals are applicable to different species. This demonstrates a deep evolutionary continuity in the organization of complex societies," Leeuwen said.

He also emphasized that understanding the relevant patterns can provide important insights for studying cooperation, social learning, and emotional well-being in both humans and animals.

Earlier, on October 7, British psychologist Robin Dunbar suggested that due to the peculiarities of the brain, a person can have no more than 150 friends. According to him, the corresponding restriction is imposed by high cognitive requirements for maintaining useful social connections. However, he clarified that the average size of a chimpanzee social group, in turn, is about 50 individuals.