SOCIAL BONDS AND THE COHERENCE OF MOUNTAIN BABOON TROOPS

AbstractFemale chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) in the Drakensberg mountains, experiencing neither predation nor within-group competition, structure their social relationships with other females in order to sustain reciprocated grooming (Henzi et al., 1997b). To do so, they cap, where time constraints demand, the size of their grooming cliques. From this we have assumed that the social orientation of mountain baboon females is primarily towards other females and that fission is a consequence of the increasing differentiation of cliques, leading to one or a few females following a male 'friend' when he departs. An alternative argument (Barton et al., 1996) is that, where predation or within-group competition do not occur, neither should female-bonded groups. In this view, females under such conditions should be 'cross-bonded' to males, each group male associating with a few females in the manner of hamadryas baboons (P. c. hamadryas). We test this prediction of 'cross-bonding' at both troop and individual level and find no evidence to support it. We then present data on fission events which argue for fission in the Drakensberg being due to the departure of small one-male units. However, the data do not support, unequivocally, the proposal that females leave with male 'friends'. They do, however, always leave with a male who has fathered at least one of their non-adult offspring.

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Social Networks and Social Complexity in Female-bonded Primates

Social Brain, Distributed Mind ◽

10.5871/bacad/9780197264522.003.0004 ◽

2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Julia Lehmann ◽

Katherine Andrews ◽

Robin Dunbar

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Social Complexity ◽

Social Bonds ◽

Primate Brain ◽

The Social ◽

Group Members ◽

Primate Group ◽

Network Metrics ◽

The Relationship

Most primates are intensely social and spend a large amount of time servicing social relationships. The social brain hypothesis suggests that the evolution of the primate brain has been driven by the necessity of dealing with increased social complexity. This chapter uses social network analysis to analyse the relationship between primate group size, neocortex ratio and several social network metrics. Findings suggest that social complexity may derive from managing indirect social relationships, i.e. relationships in which a female is not directly involved, which may pose high cognitive demands on primates. The discussion notes that a large neocortex allows individuals to form intense social bonds with some group members while at the same time enabling them to manage and monitor less intense indirect relationships without frequent direct involvement with each individual of the social group.

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Social relationships among adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus) II. Variation in the quality and stability of social bonds

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology ◽

10.1007/s00265-006-0250-9 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 61 (2) ◽

pp. 197-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 180

Author(s):

Joan B. Silk ◽

Susan C. Alberts ◽

Jeanne Altmann

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Adult Female ◽

Social Bonds ◽

Papio Cynocephalus

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Deconstructing impoliteness in professional discourse: The social psychology of workplace mobbing. A cross-disciplinary contribution with conclusions for the intercultural workplace

Lodz Papers in Pragmatics ◽

10.1515/lpp-2020-0011 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 235-264

Author(s):

Sylke Meyerhuber

Keyword(s):

Intercultural Communication ◽

Social Bonds ◽

Workplace Harassment ◽

Professional Discourse ◽

Individual Level ◽

Intercultural Interaction ◽

The People ◽

Raising Awareness ◽

The Social ◽

Work Psychology

Abstract Workplace politeness concerns the structural, interactional and individual level. Using the example of mobbing, it is illustrated how small acts of impoliteness can lead to the destruction a person psychologically and physically. Particularly, so-called downward mobbing is an increasing problem worldwide; most of the cases are orchestrated by superiors, the people subordinates depend on the most. Data clearly illustrate the social toxin created by up to 45 seemingly small actions in five areas of work life. These actions result in health hazards and ultimately loss of jobs. By example of workplace harassment, it is illustrated how systematic acts of impoliteness are used to manipulate a person's emotion and identity, to ensure anxiety-born solidarity in others while abusing power, with high costs for the target, the organisation, and society. The discussion gives way to considerations about intercultural cooperation at the workplace, showing similarities between subtle devaluations in intercultural communication called microaggression and what has been discussed as mobbing. Overall, impoliteness is deconstructed as a sign of degrading social bonds, security and health, thereby raising awareness of the importance of intercultural interaction without microaggression. The practical value of linguistic impoliteness research and its connection to work psychology becomes apparent.

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Better baboon break-ups: collective decision theory of complex social network fissions

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2021.2060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 288 (1964) ◽

Author(s):

Brian A. Lerch ◽

Karen C. Abbott ◽

Elizabeth A. Archie ◽

Susan C. Alberts

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Optimization Problem ◽

Social Groups ◽

Collective Decision ◽

Papio Cynocephalus ◽

Single Individual ◽

Individual Level ◽

Distinct Subset ◽

Wild Baboons ◽

Do So

Many social groups are made up of complex social networks in which each individual associates with a distinct subset of its groupmates. If social groups become larger over time, competition often leads to a permanent group fission. During such fissions, complex social networks present a collective decision problem and a multidimensional optimization problem: it is advantageous for each individual to remain with their closest allies after a fission, but impossible for every individual to do so. Here, we develop computational algorithms designed to simulate group fissions in a network-theoretic framework. We focus on three fission algorithms (democracy, community and despotism) that fall on a spectrum from a democratic to a dictatorial collective decision. We parameterize our social networks with data from wild baboons ( Papio cynocephalus ) and compare our simulated fissions with actual baboon fission events. We find that the democracy and community algorithms (egalitarian decisions where each individual influences the outcome) better maintain social networks during simulated fissions than despotic decisions (driven primarily by a single individual). We also find that egalitarian decisions are better at predicting the observed individual-level outcomes of observed fissions, although the observed fissions often disturbed their social networks more than the simulated egalitarian fissions.

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What’sAlterGot to Do with It? A Consideration of Network Content and the Social Ties That Provide It

Sociological Theory ◽

10.1177/0735275119869344 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 37 (3) ◽

pp. 293-314 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jason Greenberg

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Job Search ◽

Weak Ties ◽

Nascent Entrepreneurship ◽

Resource Provider ◽

The Social ◽

Different Types ◽

Strength Of Weak Ties ◽

Startup Process ◽

Do So

The strength of weak ties is among the most important theories in the social sciences. One paradoxical element of the theory has been widely understood and valued—that weak ties connect disparate regions of social structure. Less appreciated, however, is the arguably more paradoxical implication that someone only weakly connected to another would provide value beyond that which is provided by the recipient’s (ego’s) strong ties. Once this paradoxical feature of the theory and associated empirical literatures is acknowledged, the interests of the resource provider (alter) demand consideration. To do so faithfully requires first, the concession that different types of content can be transmitted across ties (e.g., financial, informational, physical, social) and content varies in important ways that relate to alter’s interests and concerns. This article considers social network content and the strength of ties that provide different forms of it. The case of startups is used as a fruitful strategic research site because of the varied resources required at various stages of the startup process. Novel insights are proposed concerning what content flows across different types of social relationships in the context of “nascent” entrepreneurship. Examples from other contexts such as job search are also discussed to exemplify scope. Importantly, this article takes the perspective of the resource provider, alter, and considers her concerns about trust, misuse, and unauthorized transfer in dyadic exchange. In the process, a second paradoxical feature of the theory is identified and theorized, which usefully reveals the boundaries of exchange.

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THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FEMALE SAVANNA BABOONS IN MOREMI RESERVE, BOTSWANA

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853999501522 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 136 (6) ◽

pp. 679-703 ◽

Cited By ~ 111

Author(s):

Joan Silk ◽

Dorothy Cheney ◽

Robert Seyfarth

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Dominance Rank ◽

Small Subset ◽

Papio Cynocephalus ◽

High Ranking ◽

Adult Females ◽

The Social ◽

Grooming Relationships ◽

Well Differentiated ◽

Free Ranging

AbstractHere we examine the effects of maternal kinship, reciprocity, and dominance rank on the social relationships of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) in a well-habituated, free-ranging group in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. These data are useful for testing comparative hypotheses about the ecological and demographic factors that shape the evolution of social organization in primates and other animals. In this group, adult females had well-differentiated grooming relationships with one another, and limited their grooming to a relatively small subset of available partners. Although there were 19 adult females in the group, the average female groomed only 8 other females, and devoted at least 5% of her grooming to only four other females. Females groomed maternal kin at significantly higher rates and for significantly longer periods than they groomed other females. The bias in favor of maternal kin was not an artifact of a general attraction toward females of adjacent rank. However, members of high-ranking lineages did devote a relatively greater fraction of grooming to maternal kin than members of low-ranking lineages did. Females most often groomed the females from whom they received the most grooming and grooming was very evenly balanced within the majority of dyads. Female rank had little impact upon grooming patterns and there was no evidence that females competed overtly over access to high-ranking partners.

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Social relationships among adult female baboons (papio cynocephalus) I. Variation in the strength of social bonds

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology ◽

10.1007/s00265-006-0249-2 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 61 (2) ◽

pp. 183-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 261

Author(s):

Joan B. Silk ◽

Jeanne Altmann ◽

Susan C. Alberts

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Adult Female ◽

Social Bonds ◽

Papio Cynocephalus

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Compliance Without Fear: Individual-Level Predictors of Protective Behavior During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

10.31234/osf.io/uzwgf ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Frederik Juhl Jørgensen ◽

Alexander Bor ◽

Michael Bang Petersen

Keyword(s):

Protective Behavior ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Panel Surveys ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Public ◽

Knowledge Based ◽

Health Authorities ◽

The Social ◽

Western Democracies ◽

Do So

The COVID-19 pandemic requires rapid public compliance with advice from health authorities. Here, we ask who was most likely to do so during the first wave of the pandemic. We conducted cross-sectional and panel surveys in eight Western democracies between March 19 and May 16 asking 26,508 citizens about their protective behavior relating to COVID-19. Consistent with prior research on epidemics, we find that perceptions of threat are crucial and culturally uniform determinants of protective behavior. On this basis, authorities could potentially foster further compliance by appealing to fear of COVID-19, but there may be normative and practical limits to such a strategy. Instead, we find that another major source of compliance is feelings of knowledge-based efficacy. Using individual-level panel data, we find evidence that knowledge efficacy amendable to change and exerts an effect on protective behavior. Importantly, the effects of such feelings are especially strong among those who do not feel threatened, creating a path to compliance without fear. In contrast, two other major candidates for facilitating compliance from the social sciences, interpersonal trust and institutional trust, have surprisingly little motivational power. To address future waves of the pandemic, health authorities should thus focus on facilitating efficacy in the public.

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