Hobbies And Interests
Fear of Snakes
In one well-documented experiment, researchers exposed captive-born monkeys to toy snakes and found that they showed no fear. After the same monkeys were shown video of a wild monkey acting terrified by the same toy, the captive monkeys adopted that fear. The captive monkeys were also shown video of a wild monkey cowering in fear from a superimposed flower, but they did not develop a fear of flowers. The researchers concluded that lab-reared monkeys had to learn their fear of snakes and, once learned, the fear did not tend to be unlearned.
Learning in the Wild
In writing for the journal, ̶0;Behavior,̶1; researcher Sue Boinski observed that wild squirrel monkeys were able to discriminate the costs and benefits of their actions, and to determine their dispersal, coordination of group travel and adjustments to group composition by considering external factors. Boinski speculated that this decision-making ability was based in part on their ability to assess their social and ecological needs. In essence, wild squirrel monkeys seemed to learn from higher-ranking group members as well as from their own experiences, and to cope with their environments by applying what they learned. Exactly how much of their behavior was innate or learned was difficult to determine, and different populations were affected by external influences in different ways and to different degrees.
Gesturing and Communicating
Squirrel monkeys in captivity demonstrated the ability to assess and learn from their surroundings, and to adjust their behavior accordingly. In an experiment where monkeys were trained to point at food, they would point and gesture more prominently when a lab assistant was nearby. Their pointing became more pronounced if the assistant was looking at them or engaging them, and even more pronounced if direct eye contact was made. Although the initial gesture was taught to the monkeys, they developed their subsequent habits of monitoring nearby people and gesturing for food when they came near without additional training.
Deception
Squirrel monkeys in the lab also learned to deceive their human handlers to gain rewards. When they gestured for food, one trainer consistently rewarded them while another consistently took the food away. Over time, the monkeys began reaching for empty containers when the competitive trainer was near, to trick him into taking the empty one. When the trainer they trusted was near, they reached for the full container. In essence, the monkeys made honest gestures to their cooperative trainer and attempted to deceive the competitive trainer, demonstrating a learned ability to deceive.