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The Novel Application of Emotional Contagion Theory to Black and Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata) Vocal Communication

Schwartz, Jay W
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429033201

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Anthropology.
Primate vocal communication is commonly studied in order to illuminate the evolutionary origins of human speech. Consequently, the literature has focused primarily on ultimate explanations, leaving proximate explanations of primate vocal communication understudied. To remedy this, I appropriate theory surrounding emotional contagion, a rudimentary form of empathy, to explore communication according to the following model: a caller’s affect is represented vocally and is thus perceived by a listener, in whom a similar affect is induced. To test the applicability of this model to natural systems, howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata) were exposed to playbacks of high and low call rates, representing high and low “caller” arousal, respectively. The responses of 12 howler groups to these stimuli were measured via several behavioral variables including alertness, movement, and vocalization, as well as roar rate and duration. Respondents did not exhibit significant between-trial differences in alertness, movement, timing of calling bouts, or roar rate, but did respond to high-rate stimuli with significantly longer roars. This result suggests that, although not sufficient to evoke differences in some behaviors, high-rate playbacks did indeed induce greater arousal in listeners. Emotional contagion therefore appears to be a probable underlying mechanism of calling in howler monkeys. Further research is needed to assess the applicability of emotional contagion to other primate communication systems.
Dawn Kitchen (Advisor)
W. Scott McGraw (Committee Member)
Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg (Committee Member)
41 p.
Animal Sciences; Behavioral Sciences; Physical Anthropology; Psychology
Howler monkey; Vocal communication; Vocalization; Prosody; Affect-induction; Emotional contagion; Empathy; Primate; Behavior

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Schwartz, J. W. (2015). The Novel Application of Emotional Contagion Theory to Black and Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata) Vocal Communication [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429033201

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Schwartz, Jay. The Novel Application of Emotional Contagion Theory to Black and Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata) Vocal Communication. 2015. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429033201.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Schwartz, Jay. "The Novel Application of Emotional Contagion Theory to Black and Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata) Vocal Communication." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429033201

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1429033201
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© 2015, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License The Novel Application of Emotional Contagion Theory to Black and Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata) Vocal Communication by Jay W Schwartz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12