Yerkes National Primate Research Center.
Department of Biomedical Science and Physiology.
J Comp Psychol. 2021 Nov;135(4):568-580. doi: 10.1037/com0000297. Epub 2021 Oct 28.
Social instability (SI) occurs when there is competition over social status. Reduced certainty of social status can lead to heightened aggression, which can increase physiological stress responses as individuals prepare to fight for their social status. However, adults can use proactive coping mechanisms to reduce the physiological stress induced by SI, such as increasing affiliation. Very little is known, however, about the behavioral and hormonal effects of SI early in development. Filling these gaps in knowledge would add to the fields of primatology and developmental and comparative psychology. We conducted an opportunistic study of a peer group of 18 rhesus macaque () yearlings before and during SI. We used social network analysis to measure individuals' dominance certainty (DC; in their aggressive and submissive network) and their position in affiliative networks (grooming and play) and analyzed hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs). As predicted, during SI, we observed a decrease in DC, indicating that individuals had less stable dominance positions. As well, during SI, we observed increased rates of social grooming and decreased rates of social play, reflecting potential coping mechanisms. More socially connected individuals in social grooming and social play networks received higher levels of coalitionary support. Contrary to predictions, DC did not predict HCCs; rather, individuals that were more connected in the social play network exhibited smaller increases in HCCs during SI, revealing a potential buffering effect of social play. Our results underscore the need for further research on the effects of SI during ontogeny. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
社会失稳（SI）发生在社会地位竞争之时。社会地位的不确定性会导致攻击性增强，这会增加个体为争夺社会地位而产生的生理压力反应。然而，成年人可以使用主动应对机制来减轻 SI 带来的生理压力，例如增加联系。然而，关于 SI 在发展早期对行为和激素的影响，人们知之甚少。填补这些知识空白将有助于灵长类动物学、发展和比较心理学领域的发展。我们对 18 只恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）幼猴进行了一项关于同伴群体的机会性研究，研究在 SI 之前和期间进行。我们使用社会网络分析来衡量个体的支配地位确定性（DC；在其攻击和顺从网络中）及其在亲和网络（梳理和玩耍）中的位置，并分析头发皮质醇浓度（HCC）。正如预测的那样，在 SI 期间，我们观察到 DC 下降，这表明个体的支配地位更加不稳定。此外，在 SI 期间，我们观察到社会梳理和社会玩耍的频率增加，这反映了潜在的应对机制。在社会梳理和社会玩耍网络中联系更紧密的个体得到了更高水平的联盟支持。与预测相反，DC 并未预测 HCC；相反，在 SI 期间，在社会玩耍网络中联系更紧密的个体的 HCC 增加幅度较小，这揭示了社会玩耍的潜在缓冲效应。我们的研究结果强调了在个体发生期间进一步研究 SI 影响的必要性。
