"The results support the idea that a tendency to avoid individuals who mistreat others is one of the things that make humans different from other species."<p>The researchers desperately need to take a night out in town and observer other humans a bit. They've acquired a biased view from being cooped up with university people for far too long. I feel like I see directly contradictory behavior on a weekly basis.
As usual with science headlines, it's an oversimplification at best, and inaccurate at worst.<p>The results seemed to indicate that Bonobos preferred those who were at the top of the social hierarchy. The experiment would only be decisive if they could find a way to deconvolve jerkishness from dominance.<p><i>The researchers say there may be a good reason for these puzzling results. It could be that bonobos interpret rudeness as a sign of social status and are simply trying to keep dominant individuals on their side. In other words, it pays to have powerful allies.</i><p><i>To test the idea, the team showed 24 bonobos another set of animated videos in which one cartoon character repeatedly prevents another one from claiming a coveted spot. The apes generally preferred the character who hogged the spot over the one who yielded.</i><p><i>For bonobos, schmoozing with dominant individuals could mean better access to food, mates or other perks, or less chance of being bullied themselves, Krupenye said.</i>
And chickens prefer attractive people:<p><a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/animals-chickens-evolution-eggs-food/" rel="nofollow">https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/animals-chickens...</a><p>Rough out there.
> To test the idea, the team showed 24 bonobos another set of animated videos in which one cartoon character repeatedly prevents another one from claiming a coveted spot. The apes generally preferred the character who hogged the spot over the one who yielded.<p>> they showed 24 bonobos animated videos of a Pac-Man-like shape as it struggles to climb a hill. Then another cartoon shape enters the scene.<p>Nevermind the 'jerk' part, I'm impressed that researchers are interpreting ape preferences via cartoons
<i>The results support the idea that a tendency to avoid individuals who mistreat others is one of the things that make humans different from other species.</i><p>What's the evidence for that? Humans love people who mistreat others. We'll die for them and canonize them, for similar reasons as bonobos: they exude power, confidence, strength, certainty. A cursory overview of history and a lot of relationships will support that.<p>Happy to be wrong. What studies are they referring to?
Science confirms what we've known for a long time - humans are unique in their ability to act according to morality, instead of pure survival value. We have eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and have free will. Animals don't.