A estrutura social é a rede de relações estabelecidas entre os indivíduos do grupo e essa estrutura pode ser afetada por fatores como o parentesco e a condição nutricional. Um comportamento intrigante, que foi associado ao parentesco e à condição nutricional, é a alo-amamentação, em que uma fêmea amamenta filhotes de outras fêmeas. Este estudo teve por objetivos determinar a influência do parentesco e da condição nutricional na estrutura social de catetos (Tayassu tajacu) em cativeiro e descrever os eventos de alo-amamentação, buscando verificar variáveis que possam ajudar a compreender o comportamento nesta espécie. Para tal, foram observados dois grupos de animais cativos, um com dez indivíduos (grupo B2) e outro com sete (grupo B3). O grupo B2 foi submetido a uma dieta com 16% de proteína bruta e o B3, com 12%. Os animais dos dois grupos tiveram seu sangue coletado para a análise de parentesco, que foi feita utilizando-se marcadores moleculares microssatélites. Como ainda não tinham sido desenvolvidos primers de microssatélites para catetos, foram testados primers desenvolvidos para suínos. Essa metodologia mostrou-se eficaz para acessar locos de microssatélites em catetos e foi possível, através dela, estimar o coeficiente de parentesco entre os indivíduos. As interações afiliativas e agonísticas e os eventos de alo-amamentação foram registrados pelo método de todas as ocorrências. A proximidade espacial foi obtida registrando-se o padrão de subgrupos formados pelos indivíduos por meio de varredura instantânea. No geral, o grupo B2 apresentou maior ocorrência de interações agonísticas e afiliativas do que o B3, e foi caracterizado por uma estrutura igualitária quanto às relações de dominância, enquanto que o B3 se apresentou mais organizado hierarquicamente. O parentesco não pareceu influenciar diretamente a freqüência das interações agonísticas, mas foi possível associar esta variável com a freqüência de interações afiliativas e proximidade espacial. Os indivíduos aparentados ficaram mais próximos na estrutura espacial e, principalmente no B3, interagiram mais afiliativamente. Os eventos de alo-amamentação foram pouco freqüentes e não pareceram acarretar muitos custos para a fêmea. Foi levantada a questão de que tal comportamento possa ser um comportamento afiliativo e possibilitar a formação de vínculos entre os filhotes e as fêmeas alheias. / The network of relationships established among individuals of a group is called social structure, and may be affected by factors as relatedness and nutritional conditions. Allonursing is an intriguing behavior characterized by the non-parental female nursing of infants. The goals of this study were determine the influence of relatedness and nutritional conditions in the social structure of collared peccaries (Tayassu tajacu) in captivity, and describe allonursing events to identify variables that may help the understanding of this behavior. Two groups of captive animals were studied, one with ten and another with seven individuals (B2 and B3 respectively). The B2 group diet contained 16% of crude protein, while the B3 group was fed with a 12% protein diet. Animals from both groups had blood samples collected for microsatellite analysis. Porcine primers were used to amplify microsatellites in collared peccary and this methodology was successfully applied to estimate genetic relationships among individuals. Agonistic and affiliative interactions as well as allonursing events were recorded using the all occurrences method, while spatial proximity among individuals was recorded using scan sampling. The B2 group presented a higher occurrence of agonistic and affiliative interactions than the B3 group, while the latter group was the most hierarchically organized. Genetic relationships did not directly influence the frequency of agonistic interactions, but influenced the frequency of affiliative interactions, as well as level of spatial proximity. Closely related individuals were generally more spatially close, and specially in the B3 group had more affiliative interactions. Allonursing events were rare and do not appear to cause much cost to the females. We raise the hypothesis of the latter behavior as an important factor to the formation of bonds among infants and non-parental females.

O avanço tecnológico faz com que simulações e experimentos computacionais sejam alternativas atraentes para estudar cientificamente princípios fundamentais de sistemas reais. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido buscando uma metodologia para encontrar um modelo de transmissão de conhecimento (competência) coerente com os comportamentos observados em campo na área de psicologia comparada que estuda primatas não humanos. O experimento visa apoiar os pesquisadores do Laboratório de Etologia Cognitiva do Instituto de Psicologia da USP que analisam os processos de aprendizagem de quebra de cocos, através da transferência de informações em um grupo de macacos prego que habitam uma ilha no Parque Ecológico do Tiete em São Paulo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o desenvolvimento de um modelo computacional, implantado junto a uma plataforma de simulação, para avaliar experimentos virtuais de transmissão de conhecimento em macacos prego, analisando a influência de atividades periféricas sobre uma atividade específica (quebra de cocos). Além disso, a tese se propõe a discutir a coerência entre dados observados em campo e aqueles produzidos pela plataforma computacional. Embora as atividades periféricas não estejam diretamente relacionadas com a atividade específica do conhecimento a ser transmitido, contribuem indiretamente para isso, sendo este um tema de interesse da tese. O modelo desenvolvido trata tanto da proposição dos mecanismos de busca por uma matriz de transferência de conhecimento, como de um ambiente para simulação do sitio habitado pelos macacos, dando subsídios para ajuste e avaliação desta matriz (coeficientes que traduzem a importância de cada relação entre macacos nas suas diversas atividades). A plataforma computacional é alimentada com dados reais, que servem ainda como referencia para comparação com os resultados computacionais obtidos. A difusão do comportamento ocorre através da rede social considerando a proximidade entre os primatas (seus encontros). Cabe ressaltar que a simulação do comportamento dos indivíduos numa sociedade ocorre sobre um sistema matemático que não é capaz de representar suas propriedades mentais, nem de forma fiel o seu comportamento. Assim, o comportamento dos agentes são naturalmente limitados às características retratadas em modelos computacionais, de modo que os modelos mentais desses agentes e seus correspondentes comportamentos sociais são naturalmente simplificações da realidade. / Technological advances allow simulations and computational experiment to be attractive alternatives to proceed with scientific studies of some fundamental principles of real systems. This work was developed searching for a methodology to find a coherent model of knowledge (competence) transfer, in the study area of behavioral psychology of non-human primates. The experiment intends to assist researchers from the Laboratory of Cognitive Ethology of the Psychology Institute from USP, involved with the analysis of coconut break learning processes, based on knowledge transfer of a monkey group living on an island at Tiete Ecology Park, in Sao Paulo. The goal is the development of a computational model, implemented on a simulation platform, to assess virtual experiments on knowledge transfer in monkeys, evaluating the influence of peripheral activities on another specific one (coconut break). Furthermore, this thesis discusses the coherence between real and simulated data. Although secondary activities are not directly related to the specific one, there are evidences that they play a contribution role, a subject of this thesis too. The developed model considers both, the mechanism used to evolve and evaluate the knowledge transfer matrix (whose coefficients reflect the importance of each monkey relationship in their various activities). The computational platform is feed with real data, used also as a reference for comparison with simulation results. The behavior diffusion is performed inside a social network considering primates proximities (meetings). It is worth mentioning that the simulation runs on top of mathematical substrate not able to take into account all mental properties neither with fidelity all nuances of the social behavior. Therefore, the behavior of the agents in the simulation stage is constrained by those characteristics embedded in the used computational models, in such a way that their mental models and consequent behavior are naturally simplifications of the reality.

A flexibilidade da socialidade presente em muitas espécies sugere que muitos dos traços comportamentais e fisiológicos presentes em grupos sociais complexos possam existir em estado latente em indivíduos de espécies solitárias. Hierarquia de dominância e assimetria reprodutiva são traços característicos de espécies sociais. O hamster Sírio é um excelente modelo para o estudo do estresse social e dos seus efeitos fisiológicos e comportamentais. Na presente pesquisa foram enfocados os efeitos do alojamento em grupo antes e no início da gestação na fêmea de hamster Sírio. Investigou-se se o estresse social produz algum grau de assimetria reprodutiva nesta espécie solitária e se o sucesso reprodutivo e o comportamento materno das fêmeas variam em função do seu status social. Dois experimentos foram realizados envolvendo respectivamente 34 fêmeas de hamster criadas em grupo do desmame até o início do estudo e 76 fêmeas criadas isoladamente. Em cada experimento, um terço dos animais foram alojados em gaiolas individuais, enquanto pares de fêmeas desconhecidas umas das outras eram formados com os outros dois terços. O comportamento dos pares foi observado ao longo de 10 dias para determinar o status social de cada fêmea. Todas as fêmeas foram acasaladas neste período. Quatro dias após o parto, os filhotes foram contados, sexados e pesados e as ninhadas padronizadas a seis filhotes, três machos e três fêmeas. As mães e suas ninhadas foram observadas diariamente durante sessões de 40min e 13 categorias comportamentais foram registradas. No intuito de esclarecer os mecanismos fisiológicos subjacentes à relação entre estresse social e fertilidade, os níveis dos hormônios reprodutivos e dos glicocorticóides foram monitorados ao longo da gestação por métodos não-invasivos, previamente validados, de quantificação dos seus metabólitos nas fezes. Foi demonstrada, pela primeira vez, a adequação de um enzimaimunoensaio e de um conjunto diagnóstico comercial de radioimunoensaio para a quantificação respectiva dos metabólitos fecais de glicocorticóides em hamsters Sírios dos dois sexos e de testosterona no hamster Sírio macho, mas não da fêmea. As variações das concentrações de metabólitos fecais de progesterona, estrógenos e glicocorticóides, refletiram os perfis séricos descritos na literatura para hamsters gestantes. Os resultados mostram que quando fêmeas de hamster Sírio são alojadas individualmente após o desmame, sua fertilidade não é afetada pelo estresse social. Em contraste, quando as fêmeas são criadas em grupo, o estresse social tanto de isolamento como de subordinação a uma fêmea dominante induz um grau significante de assimetria reprodutiva, traço característico de espécies sociais que criam seus filhotes em comunidade. A manutenção de hamsters cativos adultos em grupos parece despertar traços comportamentais e fisiológicos presentes em grupos sociais complexos e que se encontram em estado latente nesta espécie solitária. A socialidade parece flexível no hamster e modulada pelas condições ecológicas. / The flexibility of sociality found in many species suggests that many of the behavioral and physiological mechanisms responsible for highly developed social interactions are present as latent traits, even in species usually considered as solitary. Social hierarchy and reproductive skew are typical features of social species. Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) are an ideal model for the investigation of social stress and its physiological, neuroendocrine, and behavioral effects. The present research focused on the effects of group-housing prior to mating and on the first days of gestation of the female hamster. We investigated if social stress produces some degree of reproductive skew in this solitary species, and if female reproductive success varies as a function of social rank. Two experiments were carried out. The first one involved 34 females group-raised from weaning until the beginning of the trial and the second one 76 singly raised females. In each case one third of the animals were singly housed. Pairs of unrelative females were formed with the remaining animals. Pair behavior was observed through 10 days for assessment of the social rank of each female. All females were mated during this period. On day 4 post-partum, pups were counted, sexed, and weighed and litters were culled to six, three males and three females. Litters and dams were observed daily through 40-min sessions and 13 behavioral categories recorded. In order to assess the physiological relationship between social stress and fertility, we monitored reproductive hormones and glucocorticoids of solitary and pair-housed females during pregnancy by utilizing recently established non-invasive methods for measuring the respective hormone metabolites in the feces. The suitability of an enzyme immunoassay and of a commercial radioimmunoassay for respective quantification of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites of hamsters of both sexes and fecal testosterone metabolites in the male but not in the female was proven for the first time. The patterns of fecal progesterone, estrogen, and glucocorticoid metabolites were similar to blood profiles reported in the literature for pregnant hamsters. Our results showed that when female hamsters are singly housed from weaning, social stress did not affect their fertility. However, when females are group-raised, both isolation and subordination stress induced a significant reproductive skew, which is a characteristic feature of cooperative breeders. It seems that group-keeping of adult hamsters evokes social physiological and behavioral mechanisms present as latent traits in this solitary species. As in other rodents, sociability seems flexible in the Syrian hamster and our findings support the idea that social interactions may be a function of ecological conditions.

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a aplicação do Inventário de Habilidades Sociais de Del Prette (IHS) na mensuração das Habilidades Sociais e suas correlações com variáveis psicopatológicas e neuropsicológicas em pacientes com esquizofrenia, em comparação com controles normais. MÉTODOS: Este estudo é parte de um ensaio clinico que avaliou a eficácia do Treino de Habilidades Sociais em pacientes com esquizofrenia e onde foram utilizados vários instrumentos e, entre eles, o IHS para avaliação de Habilidades Sociais, a Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) para avaliação da Psicopatologia e a Wechsler Abbrevited Scale of Intelligence (WASI) como medida geral de avaliação da inteligência. O estudo foi realizado no ambulatório de dois centros especializados (Projesq do Instituto de Psiquiatria do HC FMUSP e Proesq da Universidade Federal de São Paulo) nos quais 91 pacientes com diagnostico de esquizofrenia pelo DSM IV TR, com diferentes níveis de gravidade ( 62 refratários e 29 não refratários), foram comparados com controles 108 controles normais. Para comparação entre variáveis foram utilizados teste t de Student, Análise de Variância e Covariância e para o estudo das correlações um modelo de Regressão Linear. .Resultados: Pacientes com esquizofrenia apresentaram comprometimento significativamente maior de suas habilidades sociais, avaliadas pelos cinco fatores do IHS, quando comparados com controles normais, exceto para o Fator F5 (auto-controle da agressividade). Não foram encontradas diferenças de habilidades sociais entre os subgrupos de pacientes divididos de acordo com sua gravidade. Os fatores do IHS não se correlacionaram significativamente com as subescalas da PANSS, com exceção do fator F3 (conversação e desenvoltura social), que se correlacionou inversamente com a gravidade da subescala de Psicopatologia Geral da PANSS. Não foram observadas correlações entre os fatores do IHS e as três dimensões do WASI (Verbal, Execução e Total). CONCLUSÕES: O Inventário de Habilidades Sociais mostrou ser um instrumento capaz de detectar o comprometimento das habilidades sociais em pacientes com esquizofrenia, quando comparados com controles normais. Não foram observadas diferenças entre os subgrupos de pacientes quanto à gravidade do quadro, bem como em relação à maioria das variáveis psicopatológicas ou neuropsicológicas mensuradas, fazendo supor que as habilidades sociais representem uma dimensão independente do funcionamento social na esquizofrenia / AIM: To evaluate the use of Del Prettes Social Skills Inventory ( IHS) in the measurement of Social Skills e their correlations with psychopathological and neuropsychological variables in patients with schizophrenia comparing with normal controls. METHODS: This study is part of a clinical trial which evaluated the efficacy of Social Skills Training in patients with schizophrenia and which utilized several instruments such as the IHS for the evaluations of Social Skills, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for the evaluation of Psychopathology and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) as a measure of general intelligence. The study was developed in two specialized centers (Projesq of the Institute of Psychiatry of University of São Paulo General Hospital and Proesq of the Federal University of São Paulo) where 91 patients with a DSM IV_TR diagnostic of schizophrenia, with different levels of severity (62 refractory and 29 non refractory) were compared with 108 normal controls. Comparisons between variables were performed using t tests, Analysis of Variance and Covariance, and for correlations a Linear Regression Model. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia, when compared with normal controls, showed a significant impairment in their social skills, as measured by the 5 factors of the IHS, except for factor F5 (self control of aggression). Patients showed no differences in terms of social skills regarding severity. No significant correlations where found between the IHS factors the PANSS subscales, except the F3 factor (conversation and social performance) which inversely correlated with the General Psychopathology subscale. Additionally we found no correlations between IHS factors and the 3 WASI dimensions (Verbal, Executive and Total).CONCLUSIONS: The Social Skills Inventory was able to detect socials skills impairment in patients with schizophrenia, as compared to normal controls. No relationship were found between IHS and severity, psychopathology or cognitive measures and, therefore, we may hypothesize that Social Skills may represent and independent dimension of the social functioning in schizophrenia

Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) are the most frequently sighted odontocete in a long-term study in Hawaiʹi (representing 23.8% of all odontocete sightings from directed research efforts), yet little has been published on this species in Hawaiian waters. Studies elsewhere have suggested that short-finned pilot whales travel in stable mixed-sex groups composed of strongly associated individuals; however temporal analyses of social structure are lacking. To examine site fidelity, association patterns and temporal relationships, I analyzed data from 267 directed research and opportunistic encounters of short-finned pilot whales off the island of Hawai`i from 2003 through 2007. Sightings occurred year-round. Analysis of sighting depths in relation to effort indicated short-finned pilot whales are strongly associated with the island slope, with no sightings in water >2,700m deep despite effort to ~5,000m. Using only good quality photos, I identified 448 distinctive individuals; of these, 305 (68.1%) were seen more than once and 250 (55.8%) were seen in >1 year. Sighting histories varied from 1-29 sightings per individual (median=3) over the course of the study, suggesting only some individuals exhibit high site-fidelity. Degree of residency was assessed using multi-year site fidelity to the study area; individuals seen ≥5 times in ≥3 years were considered core residents (154 individuals) while individuals who fell below these criteria but that were seen more than once were termed residents (150 individuals) and those seen on a single occasion were termed visitors (142 individuals). Only 71.9% of the whales were linked by association into a single social network, suggesting the possibility of multiple populations using the study area. Individuals demonstrated preferential associations and community division was strongly supported by average-linkage hierarchical cluster analysis of the association data. Nine longitudinally-stable social units composed of key individuals (seen together ≥8 times in ≥4 years) and their constant companions (seen together ≥5 times in ≥3 years) were identified (unit membership 5-16, median=10.5; mean unit association index: 0.62-0.90). Qualitative assignment of age and sex classes to unit members indicated some segregation between adult males and female/calf pairs may occur. Temporal analysis using standardized lagged association rates of individuals grouped in the same encounter produced a best-fit model where dyads gradually disassociated over time while individuals grouped in the same day produced a model where dyads remained in association, suggesting companions not documented during an encounter are likely still present in the study area. Differential patterns of residency and site fidelity were unexpected and may be indicative of multiple populations around the main Hawaiian Islands. Additionally, the presence of a core resident population demonstrating strong, long-term site-fidelity and associations off the island of Hawaiʹi may warrant special management considerations. Evidence of fisheries-related injuries in addition to anthropogenic threats such as high levels of commercial and recreational vessel traffic, targeted tourist activities, and commercial and sports troll fisheries indicate that additional research is needed to evaluate potential threats to this island-associated population.

為瞭解在不同的母親(教育程度、就業狀況)及幼兒(性別、家中子女數)背景變項下，母親管教方式(要求、反應)、親子依附關係(安全依附、逃避混亂及矛盾)對幼兒社會行為表現(攻擊、退縮、分心、利社會、親和及獨立)的關係，乃以臺北市公立幼兒園的117位四到六歲幼兒及其母親為研究對象，使用「個人基本資料表」、「母親管教方式量表」、「幼兒依附關係量表」及「兒童社會行為量表」作為研究工具，對搜集所得之資料進行統計分析，所得之主要研究結果如下： 1.當前幼兒知覺母親採用較多「要求」、較少「反應」的管教方式。 2.幼兒與母親間的依附關係依次為「安全依附」、「逃避混亂」、「矛盾」。 3.目前台北市幼兒表現最多的為「親和行為」，其次依序為「獨立行為」、「利社會行為」、「退縮行為」、「分心行為」，「攻擊行為」表現最少。 4.男生比女生表現較多的「攻擊行為」；家中有1個子女的家庭，其子女的「分心行為」比家中有2個子女的幼兒多；家中有2個子女的家庭的幼兒比有1個及3個或以上家庭的幼兒，表現較多的「獨立行為」。 5.「要求」的管教方式主要與幼兒「利社會」、「親和」的正向社會行為有正相關，「反應」的管教方式則與幼兒「退縮」、「分心」的負向社會行為有正相關。 6.「安全依附」與「利社會」、「親和」及「獨立」的正向社會行為間存有正相關；「逃避混亂」與幼兒「攻擊」、「分心」行為有正相關，「矛盾」與「退縮行為」有正相關。 7.母親及幼兒的背景變項、母親管教方式及親子依附關係等變項，均能有效預測幼兒的社會行為表現。 最後，根據上述研究結果，針對家庭、學校、社會及未來研究提出積極性的建議。 / In order to find out under different background variables of mother (educational level, employment status) and child (gender, numbers of children), the relationship between mother parenting style (demand, responsiveness), mother-child attachment relationship (security attachment, avoidant attachment, ambivalent attachment ) and children social behavior (attack, retreat, distraction, pro-social, affinity and independent). The research objects were four to six year-old children of public kindergartens in Taipei City. The total returned questionnaires were 117. After statistical analysis, the major findings of this research were as follow: 1.Currently, children’s perception of their mothers’ parenting used more “demandingness” and less “responsiveness”. 2.Most of the mother-child attachment was “security attachment”, and then was “avoidant attachment” and “ambivalent attachment”. 3.The most performed children social behavior was “affinity behavior”, and then “independent behavior”, “pro-social behavior”, “retreat behavior”, “distracted behavior” and “attack behavior”. 4.Boys behaved more “attack behavior” than girls. Families with one child, their children behaved more “distracted behavior” than families with two children. Families with two children, their children behaved more “independent behavior” than families with one child and three or more children. 5.“Demand” parenting style had a positive relationship between “pro-social behavior” and “affinity behavior”; “responsiveness” parenting style had a positive relationship between “retreat behavior” and “distracted behavior”. 6.“Secured attachment” had a positive relationship between “pro-social behavior”, “affinity behavior” and “independent behavior”; “avoidant attachment” had a positive relationship between “attack behavior” and “distracted behavior”; “ambivalent attachment” had a positive relationship between “retreat behavior”. 7.Background variables of mother and child, mother parenting style and mother-child attachment relationship, could predict children’s social behavior. According to the results of this study, some suggestions were made for parents, kindergartens, society and further studies.

The current study addressed whether there were differences in relational aggression in 9- to 10-year-old boys and girls in Hungarian and German samples. There has been very little empirical research conducted comparing children of diverse cultures in their use of relational aggression. The current study used teachers’ reports of different aggression styles observed in their 9- to 10-year-old students (N = 269). The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence and styles of aggression used in a 9- to 10-year-old culturally diverse population, as it was hypothesized that culture would be a factor in the incidence of relational aggression as well as a difference in boys’ verses girls’ relational aggression within native Hungarian cultures. Data were collected from classroom teachers using the Children’s Social Behavior Scale – Teacher Form (Crick, 1996). Six sets of analyses were conducted, including the evaluation of teacher reports of relational aggression among all 160 Hungarian and all 109 German students, the evaluation of teacher reports of physical aggression among Hungarian and German students, the evaluation of teacher reports of prosocial behavior among Hungarian and German students, the evaluation of teacher reports of relational aggression among Hungarian boys and girls, the evaluation of teacher reports of physical aggression among Hungarian boys and girls, and the evaluation of teacher reports of prosocial behavior among Hungarian boys and girls. Results confirmed 2 out of 2 hypotheses. Teachers reported greater incidence of relational and physical aggression among German students. Teachers reported a greater incidence of prosocial behavior among Hungarian students. Hungarian teachers reported a greater incidence of physical aggression among boys and a greater incidence of prosocial behavior among girls. This research failed to find any differences in Hungarian boys’ and girls’ use of relational aggression in this sample. Overall, the current findings support that cultural differences exist in relational aggression, physical aggression, and prosocial behavior among a 9- to 10-year-olds. It also supported the position that gender differences exist in the use of physical aggression and prosocial behavior among a native Hungarian sample.

The permanent coresidence of males within a troop is unusual but occurs in vervet monkeys. Several hypotheses have been projected to explain the coexistence of male vervets (predation risk, breeding season length) but these hypotheses fall short in explaining the multimale nature of vervet monkeys. In order to determine the explanation for coresiding males, I collected male behavioural data from two troops over the course of nine months. My dataset was divided into two categories, male-male interactions and female-male interactions. The male-male data indicate that breeding season is the most active time for migration, aggressions and wounds. Coalitions were described for the first time, and affiliative interactions between males highlighted coping tactics of males in regards to their coexistence. The female-male data indicate there was little indication for distinct male or female choice for mating. Specifically, olfactory information appears to lower successful copulations of males, and female resistance also decreased successful copulations. Grooming was not a commodity traded for mating access. Male dominance was not correlated with mating success, and females seem to express their preference for sexual partners. The large cohort of males of my troops appears to alter behaviours observed at other sites. The maintenance of male-female associations after breeding season suggests that males may be preparing for next breeding season, and males may co-reside for breeding purposes. / xiii, 123 leaves : ill. maps ; 29 cm

This study explored the organizing principles of female sociality in free-ranging vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) inhabiting the Klein Karoo, South Africa. Females groomed more than males, grooming peaked at the end of the day and less grooming occurred during the mating season. Although females competed over food, they did not compete over grooming partners, rarely formed coalitions and did not trade grooming against other activities. Instead, they maintained grooming whilst trading between feeding and resting and feeding and moving. Despite seasonal shifts in food competition, grooming was not traded for tolerance and there was an upper limit to cohort size before clique size declined. Inter-population comparisons revealed no troop size effects on clique size, aggression and competition over high-ranking grooming partners. The rarity of coalitions suggests coalitions are unlikely to be a central component of female relationships. / xiii, 162 leaves : ill., maps ; 29 cm

In this dissertation, two fundamental questions are posed: (1) what is emotion, and (2) what part does it play in the social processes of self-formation and self-realization? How do we as behaving beings, who experience sensations, become interacting beings, who experience emotions? And, how are our emotional experiences related to who we are and our ability to acquire a positive relation to ourselves? By attempting to answer these questions I point out the social conditions that are necessary to enable emotional experiences, and in turn self-formation and self-realization. The focus is on the form, rather than on the content of the emotional self. From the developed neo-Meadian perspective on the emotional self, emotion is understood as a phenomenon linked to both mind and body, without being explained as a mind-body combination. It is argued that emotional experiences are (1) corporal evaluations of our interchanges with the outer world, especially, the other, and (2) crucial to who we are or want to be. An introduction to the neo-Meadian theory of the emotional self is presented in a general manner by including notions of the social self and emotion as social. In the first part of the dissertation, I suggest that diverse phenomena in the social process of self-formation and self-realization is explained by a view that has its roots in the classic social psychology of Adam Smith, Charles Horton Cooley, and, especially, George Herbert Mead. The view consists of three salient ideas: (1) the self does not emerge without the other or society, (2) it is from the point of view of the other or society that the self develops, and (3) self-realization involves a need for recognition. In the second part of the dissertation, I expand the view on emotion as social that is incorporated in the classic social psychology by investigating the recently established field of the sociology of emotions. Once the general structure of the notion of the social self and emotion as social is shown and provided with a preliminary defense, different modifications are considered. In the third part of the dissertation, both the classic social psychology and the sociology of emotions are modified to become more accurate. I elaborate on Mead’s distinction between social behavior, in the form of (1) functional identification, and social interaction, in form of (2) attitude taking of the thing from which he means that self-feeling arises, and (3) attitude taking of the other from which he means that self-reflexion arises.