Young Bonobos Regulate Emotions Like Humans

Young bonobos share striking similarities in emotional development with human children, which suggests that the great apes regulate their emotions in a human-like way, according to new research published in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A team of researchers studied a troop of bonobos at a wildlife sanctuary near Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They suggest their research shows that the socio-emotional framework commonly applied to children works equally well for apes, which they say means emotional tests designed for humans may also be useful when studying the emotional character of apes.

The research was conducted by Zanna Clay and Frans de Waal, both of the Living Links Center at Emory University's Yerkes National Primate Research Center.

Clay and de Waal found bonobos that recovered quickly and easily from their own emotional upheavals, such as after losing a fight, were more likely to show greater empathy for their fellow great apes. Those bonobos were also observed comforting bonobos in distress by kissing, embracing or touching.

"If the way bonobos handle their own emotions predicts how they react to those of others, this hints at emotion regulation, such as the ability to temper strong emotions and avoid over-arousal. In children, emotion regulation is crucial for healthy social development. Socially competent children keep the ups and downs of their emotions within bounds. A stable parent-child bond is essential for this, which is why human orphans typically have trouble managing their emotions," the researchers wrote in a statement.

The bonobo -- as genetically similar to humans as the chimpanzee -- is widely considered to be the most emotional great ape.

"This makes the species an ideal candidate for psychological comparisons," says de Waal. "Any fundamental similarity between humans and bonobos probably traces back to their last common ancestor, which lived around six million years ago."

De Waal said the study of animal emotions has long been "scientifically taboo," but he contends emotional studies on animals can provide valuable information on humans and our society.

"By measuring the expression of distress and arousal in great apes, and how they cope, we were able to confirm that efficient emotion regulation is an essential part of empathy. Empathy allows great apes and humans to absorb the distress of others without getting overly distressed themselves,"