Why do females in male-philopatric species seem to show larger variation in their life history strategies than males in female-philopatric species? Why did females in human societies come to show enormous variation in the patterns of marriage, residence and mating activities? To tackle these important questions, this book presents the latest knowledge about the dispersing females in male-philopatric non-human primates and in human societies. The non-human primates that are covered include muriquis, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and some species of colobine monkeys. In these non-human primate species females typically leave their natal group before sexual maturation and start reproduction in other groups into which they immigrate. However, there is a large variation as some females may breed in their natal group with some risks of inbreeding with their male relatives and some females may associate with males of multiple groups at the same time after leaving their natal group. Such variation seems to provide better strategies for reproduction depending on local circumstances. Although knowledge about female dispersal patterns and life history is indispensable for understanding the dynamic structure of primate societies, it is still not known how females behave after leaving their natal groups, how many groups they visit before finally settling down and which kinds of groups they choose to immigrate into, due to the large variation and flexibility and the difficulty of tracking females after natal dispersal. To encourage further progress in this important field, this volume provides new insights on evolution of female dispersal by describing factors influencing variations in the dispersal pattern across primates and a hypothesis for the formation of human families from the perspectives of female life history. This book is recommended reading for researchers and students in primatology, anthropology, animal behavior and evolution and for anyone interested in primate societies and human evolution.

Aggression and competition are customarily presented as the natural state of affairs in both human society and the animal kingdom. Yet, as this book shows, our species relies heavily on cooperation for survival as do many others--from wolves and dolphins to monkeys and apes. A distinguished group of fifty-two authors, including many of the world's leading experts on human and animal behavior, review evidence from multiple disciplines on natural conflict resolution, making the case that reconciliation and compromise are as much a part of our heritage as is waging war.
Chimpanzees kiss and embrace after a fight. Children will appeal to fairness when fighting over a toy. Spotted hyenas, usually thought to be a particularly aggressive species, use reconciliation to restore damaged relationships. As these studies show, there are sound evolutionary reasons for these peacekeeping tendencies. This book also addresses the cultural, ecological, cognitive, emotional, and moral perspectives of conflict resolution.

In more ways than we may sometimes care to acknowledge, the human being is just another primate--it is certainly only very rarely that researchers into cognition, emotion, personality, and behavior in our species and in other primates come together to compare notes and share insights. This book, one of the few comprehensive attempts at integrating behavioral research into human and nonhuman primates, does precisely that--and in doing so, offers a clear, in-depth look at the mutually enlightening work being done in psychology and primatology.

Relying on theories of behavior derived from psychology rather than ecology or biological anthropology, the authors, internationally known experts in primatology and psychology, focus primarily on social processes in areas including aggression, conflict resolution, sexuality, attachment, parenting, social development and affiliation, cognitive development, social cognition, personality, emotions, vocal and nonvocal communication, cognitive neuroscience, and psychopathology. They show nonhuman primates to be far more complex, cognitively and emotionally, than was once supposed, with provocative implications for our understanding of supposedly unique human characteristics. Arguing that both human and nonhuman primates are distinctive for their wide range of context-sensitive behaviors, their work makes a powerful case for the future integration of human and primate behavioral research.