Thechimpanzees possess an innate sense of justice, something that until now was considered an exclusively human trait, according to a study carried out by scientists at the Yerkes Primate Research Center, Emory University (USA). As revealed by the authors of the work in the magazinePNAS, in their experiments studied the response of monkeys toUltimatum Game, an experimental game of economics designed to determinehow sensitive is a subject to the distribution of rewards between two individuals.
In the game, one individual needs to propose a division of a certain reward to another and then get the second to accept the proposal before both can get the prize. Humans usuallyoffer generous amounts, usually 50%, exactly the same as the chimpanzee experiment.
“Until now it had been assumed that the Ultimatum Game could not be used with animals because they would choose the most selfish option”, explains Frans de Waal, co-author of the research. However, the study “shows that chimpanzees not only have a sense of justice similar to that of humans but also have exactly the same preferences as our species,” he clarifies. After all, it seems logical that chimpanzees, which have acooperative behaviorin nature, show a preference for equitable reward sharing.
From the results it follows thathuman aversion to inequality and our affinity for “fair” dealsthey have been inherited from a common ancestor between monkeys and apes.
