Chimpanzees' Natural Cooperation A Fact, Recent Study Reveals

It has become a popular belief that human cooperation is unique. However, researchers have found that such trait is actually shared with other primates particularly our closest relatives, the chimpanzees.  

According to Phys.org, the study conducted by Yerkes National Primate Research Center revealed that chimpanzees chose cooperating five times more frequently than competition. This debunks the popular myths that cooperation is exclusive for humans and chimpanzees are overly competitive. Researchers conducted 94 hour-long test sessions that provided numerous chances for aggression, freeloading, and competition. The test aimed to determine if chimpanzees possess the same level of abilities that human have to conquer competition. It mimicked their natural situations; for instance, they were given plenty of opportunities to compete.

During the experiment, they were given an apparatus filled with rewards and they were likewise given numerous chances to pull it cooperatively. It turned out that chimpanzees are naturally good at cooperation. They protested against each other and refused to work with freeloaders. They likewise helped others against freeloading. The results of the study also contradicted the previous practices of researchers. In past experiments, researchers aimed to engineer cooperation among chimpanzees instead of acknowledging their natural cooperation. This is because they believed that these primates are naturally competitive.

According to Frans de Waal, PhD, a C. H. Candler Professor of Psychology at Emory University and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes Research Center, the world is indeed full of cooperation — from the smallest to the biggest animals. This study is the first to show that our closest relatives have the knowledge and instinct to avoid competition and freeloading. The findings are presented in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) which showed a thorough discussion of how chimpanzees choose to be cooperative in a world of competition.

With the similarities among humans and chimpanzees, the results also show shared traits among different species. This in turn suggests more thoughts about human evolution.