Young bonobos have similar emotional developments as human children, leading scientists to believe they manage emotions the same way as humans do.
A study conducted on young bonobos at a wildlife sanctuary near Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo led to the discovery that these animals have a similar social framework as humans. Not only do they have a similar emotional development process as human children, they also manage their emotions like humans.
Researchers from Emory University found that bonobos who had mothers were better at managing their emotions and offering a shoulder to cry on than orphaned bonobos. Among human children, researchers found that those who were able to reach out and comfort other people in distress were better at modulating both positive and negative emotions.
"Infants without effective [emotion regulation] do not orient to others because they cannot overcome their own personal distress in the face of another's distress," the authors wrote.
Researchers of the study also wanted to find out whether bonobas were similar to humans in terms of their urgency to hug, kiss and make up after a fight. They observed 373 different "post-distress" periods of a group of young bonobas. 318 were from right after a fight and 55 plain old tantrums
They found that a hug wasn't solely a human impulse. Bonobas too hugged and kissed to make up after a fight or to comfort a fellow bonobas in distress. They also observed that bonobas who were able to recover quickly and easily from their own emotional turmoil, such as after losing a fight also provided better emotional support to their peers. Researchers stated that if the way bonobos handle their emotions has anything to do with the way they react to others, it could indicate emotion regulation like controlling temper and avoiding over arousal.
Frans de Waal and and Zanna Clay, lead authors of the study speculate that these emotion similarities might have evolved before the bonobo and human lines split about 6 million years ago. Bonobos are one of the closest primitive relatives of humans. Their genetics are 98.5 percent similar to humans as are chimpanzees. They are also considered the most empathetic and smartest apes.
"By measuring the expression of distress and arousal in great apes, and how they cope, we were able to confirm that efficient emotion regulation is an essential part of empathy. Empathy allows great apes and humans to absorb the distress of others without getting overly distressed themselves," concluded de Waal.
A similar study conducted in 2010 showed that bonobas share another similar trait with humans. According to the study, bonobas like humans, enjoy sharing their food with other bonobas. They also never outgrow their compassionate nature unlike chimpanzees who become selfish in adulthood.
