Psychology -The difference of aggressive and submissive behaviours Essay

Psychology -The difference of aggressive and submissive behaviours between chimpanzees and l'hoest monkeys - Essay Example Submissive behaviour on the other hand, can be dangerous for primates who operate in a no-holds-barred â€Å"dog-eat-dog† world. Submissive animals are more likely to hunted, less able to defend themselves and their offspring and more quickly likely to become prey. Is there a biological basis for certain types of behavioural traits in animals? Are some primates more aggressive than others? Animal behaviour has always been addressed by zoologists. Studies from the Colchester zoo have addressed a variety of behavioural traits among primates. In her study entitled, â€Å"The effect of a foraging enrichment on the behaviour of buffy-headed capuchin monkeys†, Amanda Skornia observed primate behaviour for six days and discovered positive behavioural differences in buffy-headed capuchin monkeys following enclosed environmental enrichment (Skornia 2002). In a study of aggression in captive patas monkey, Donna Miller observed the behaviour of this primate following a collective move to a new enclosure. Overall activity and aggressive behaviour was observed following the move but a direct correlation between the actual aggression and the move could not be adequately established (Miller 2002). Although not a primate-specific study, in her insightful analysis of behaviour among lions, Hayley Monaghan looked at different behavioural traits between zoo lions and safari lions (2002). She undertook this study on the effects of captivity and determined that there is a significant difference between activity levels of lions in the zoo and in safari parks. The active behaviour of male and female lions was significantly higher in the zoo than in the safari. As we shall see in the Discussion section of this essay, the Monaghan study, although not directly tied to primate behaviour, will have important implications for future research on behavioral differences between chimpanzees and lHoest primates. The particular behaviours of