Deck 7: Primate Sociality, Social Behavior, and Culture

Question 1

Solitary primates and those in small groups suffer higher rates of predation by what predator compared to those living in large groups?

A)large reptiles
B)large cats
C)eagles
D)snakes

Answer 1

eagles

Question 2

Primates spend

A)much of their time foraging for food.
B)spend less than 25% of their day foraging for food.
C)spend a minimal amount of their time foraging for food.
D)only forage for food during the rainy season.

Answer 2

much of their time foraging for food.

Question 3

Nocturnal primates communicate through

A)complex facial expressions.
B)agonistic dominance interactions.
C)vocalizations.
D)gestures.

Answer 3

vocalizations.

Question 4

Jane Goodall was the first to document

A)the use of stick tools by chimpanzees.
B)predatory behavior of chimpanzees.
C)the enduring nature of the mother-offspring bond in chimpanzees.
D)all of the above.

Question 5

Sexual dimorphism in body size is greater in societies where

A)females compete for access to males.
B)males compete for access to females.
C)there is a monogamous mating pattern.
D)males do not compete for access to females.

Question 6

Polygynous societies

A)are groups where females have more than one partner.
B)are groups where males have more than one partner.
C)are rare in primate societies.
D)both a and c

Question 7

Variability in female primate reproduction is usually related to

A)variation in access to high-protein, easily digestible food.
B)access to males.
C)dominance rank.
D)both a and c

Question 8

In response to changes in food supply, some primate groups

A)send the older males outside of the group.
B)adjust the size of the group.
C)change their migration patterns.
D)send the younger males outside of the group.

Question 9

Primate societies are considered to show diversity in all of the following features except

A)their reliance on a mother-infant bond for social learning.
B)their ability to express themselves through a range of behaviors.
C)the complexity of organization observed in rank, age, sex, etc.
D)their reliance upon various long-term social relationships.

Question 10

Altruistic behavior occurs under which of the following circumstances?

A)when both individuals benefit from the behavior
B)when the benefit to one individual outweighs the risk to the other
C)when the risk to the group is low
D)when the risk to the group is high

Question 11

Monogamy is characteristic of

A)baboons.
B)gibbons.
C)orangutans.
D)chimpanzees.

Question 12

Anthropologist Sarah Hrdy has suggested that infanticide

A)is likely pathological.
B)may be an evolved reproductive strategy.
C)is never contested by females.
D)does not occur in primates.

Question 13

Chimpanzee material culture dates to

A)4,000-5,000 yBP.
B)10,000-12,000 yBP.
C)50,000-60,000 yBP.
D)chimpanzees do not have material culture.

Question 14

Altruistic behaviors include all of the following except

A)antipredator warning calls.
B)grooming.
C)dominance behavior.
D)food sharing.

Question 15

Examples of culture include all of the following except

A)group-specific vocalization patterns.
B)handclasp grooming in chimpanzees.
C)Koko the gorilla recognizing herself in the mirror.
D)chimpanzees using spears to skewer prosimians.

Question 16

Sexual dimorphism in canine size

A)is greater in societies where males compete.
B)is reduced in societies where males compete.
C)is greater when males live with relatives.
D)both b and c

Question 17

Jane Goodall's observations of chimpanzee behavior in the wild documented all of the following except

A)chimpanzees using stripped sticks to access termites.
B)chimpanzees regularly hunting in groups.
C)chimpanzees using spears to hunt for small primates.
D)chimpanzees using leaves as sponges to access rainwater in tree crevices.

Question 18

In nonhuman primates, grooming relationships serve

A)as an aggressive behavior.
B)as a hygienic practice.
C)to find lunch.
D)to reinforce social structures and cement social bonds.

Question 19

What trait makes humans unique?

A)They are the only primates known to use material culture to access food resources.
B)They are the only primates known to depend on material culture for survival.
C)They are the only primates known to use nonverbal communications.
D)They are the only primates known to live in social groups.

Question 20

All of the anthropoids live in social groups except

A)tamarins.
B)gibbons.
C)howler monkeys.
D)orangutans.

Question 21

Grooming, an affiliative or cooperative behavior, serves all of the following functions except

A)removing insects or other foreign objects.
B)helping to cement social bonds between the individuals who are grooming.
C)preventing diseases from spreading within a social group.
D)maintaining the dominance hierarchies present within groups.

Question 22

Natural selection favors primate behaviors that enhance survival and reproduction.Which of the following behaviors observed in primates directly enhances fitness?

A)infanticide
B)the development of long-term relationships
C)grooming
D)none of the above

Question 23

The higher the rank of a female primate, the

A)lower her access to resources and the lower the survival rate of her offspring.
B)lower her access to resources and the greater the survival rate of her offspring.
C)greater her access to resources, which results in lower birth rates.
D)greater her access to resources, which results in higher birth rates.

Question 24

Which of the following are examples of primate residence strategies?

A)one-male, multifemale; all-male; solitary
B)one-female, multimale; one-male, multifemale; one-male, one-female
C)one-male, multifemale; multimale, multifemale; solitary
D)all of the above

Question 25

Researchers have shown that male primates most often compete for mates while female primates compete for other resources.This illustrates

A)that reproduction places different demands on males and females in terms of energy expenditures, resulting in varying reproductive strategies.
B)that reproduction has similar energetic demands for both sexes, so males and females respond accordingly.
C)that primates do not vary in their ability to respond to differing energetic requirements.
D)none of the above.

Question 26

Polyandrous residence patterns

A)represent a social grouping that includes multiple adult males and females.
B)are commonly observed in prosimians and Old World monkeys.
C)represent a social grouping in which males cooperate in parenting activities.
D)represent a social grouping that includes one male and multiple females.

Question 27

Orangutans are an example of which residence pattern?

A)monogamous
B)polygynous
C)polyandrous
D)solitary

Question 28

Sociality among primates is likely the result of which of the following selective pressures?

A)predation
B)niche competition
C)adaptive radiation
D)habitat

Question 29

Research on primate vocalizations shows that

A)primates must learn to use and respond to vocalizations appropriately.
B)primate vocalizations are modified to reflect context.
C)primate vocalizations are fixed and innate.
D)a and b only.

Question 30

All-male groups of nonhuman primates

A)are often polyandrous, before females join other existing groups.
B)often exist together with multimale, multifemale groups.
C)are often temporary, before males form their own groups.
D)both b and c

Question 31

Male primates compete through many behaviors for access to mates and to maintain social groupings.These behaviors include

A)infanticide.
B)vocalizing through territorial loud calls.
C)forming alliances.
D)all of the above.

Question 32

Although altruistic behavior benefits others while being a disadvantage to the altruistic individual, it likely exists in primate societies because

A)altruistic behaviors are not directed randomly but toward related individuals.
B)altruistic behaviors are an example of kin selection.
C)altruistic behaviors are likely to be observed in groups where there is high genetic relatedness among individuals.
D)all of the above.

Question 33

A group of primates at the local zoo includes one adult male, several adult females, and their offspring.It is possible that this group

A)represents a polyandrous residence pattern.
B)is a group of howler monkeys.
C)is likely a group of chimpanzees.
D)none of the above.

Question 34

Food quality is important for feeding success because

A)high-quality food provides energy and protein that are readily digestible.
B)high-quality food is high in nondigestible cellulose such as that found in mature leaves.
C)not all primates have anatomical adaptations to adjust for differences in food quality.
D)both a and c

Question 35

Chimpanzees taught by humans to make simple stone tools

A)were unable to teach other chimpanzees to do so.
B)passed this new behavior to relatives.
C)were never able to learn to use a sharp edge to cut.
D)none of the above.

Question 36

Which of the following are key factors contributing to a female primate's success at feeding?

A)food quality
B)food distribution
C)food availability
D)all of the above

Question 37

Which of the following factors impacts the feeding success of female primates?

A)the cooperation of other females in the group in foraging activities
B)the distribution or location of food sources across the landscape
C)the cooperation of males in the foraging activities
D)more defined seasonality, increasing food availability and foraging success

Question 38

When observing primates at the zoo, you notice a male and female gibbon quite similar in size, unlike what you previously saw in the hamadryas baboon enclosure.You know that

A)the lack of sexual dimorphism you see is due to the polygamous social structure observed in gibbons.
B)the lack of sexual dimorphism is the result of unequal access to resources within their environment.
C)the lack of sexual dimorphism you see is due to decreased competition for mates in a monogamous social structure.
D)the lack of sexual dimorphism in gibbons is not related to social structure.

Question 39

Kin selection refers to

A)avoidance of selecting kin (related individuals) as mates.
B)only food-sharing among related individuals.
C)behaviors that increase inclusive fitness of the donor.
D)the selection of nonrelated individuals as mates.

Question 40

In your primate anatomy lab, you are asked to observe the skulls of a male and a female baboon.After examining each skull and making notes about the large difference in canine size, you conclude that

A)differences in canine size are related to differences in feeding strategy and males' preference for animal protein.
B)male baboons are likely to compete regularly for resources, including access to females.
C)male baboons of this species disperse from their natal groups and are less likely to be related.
D)both b and c

Question 41

Chimpanzee tool use challenges the assumption

A)that humans are fundamentally different from chimpanzees.
B)that chimpanzees are capable of any type of behavior.
C)that chimpanzees are not likely to use tools.
D)that material culture is unique to humans.

Question 42

What have scientists learned about the function of primate vocalizations and how they relate to the evolution of human language?

Question 43

Compare and contrast male and female primates in terms of reproductive strategies and competition.

Question 44

The use of different natural objects to obtain food, similar to that observed in chimpanzees, has been observed in

A)gibbons.
B)capuchin monkeys.
C)orangutans.
D)both b and c

Question 45

The loud calls of various primate species such as howler monkeys and baboons

A)are often heard during intergroup encounters or other types of competition among individuals.
B)indicate the physical condition of the caller.
C)convey group size to opposing groups.
D)all of the above.

Question 46

Describe some examples of learned behavior and cultural traditions among primates.

Question 47

Certain primate vocalizations have been found to possess structural elements similar to those observed in human language

A)through the discovery of the potential use of affixation by species of arboreal monkeys.
B)through the discovery that nonhuman primates continue to produce new sounds throughout the course of life.
C)through the discovery that all primate vocalizations are referential.
D)none of the above.

Question 48

Why are primates social?

Question 49

Primate vocalizations

A)can serve as subtle social cues to mediate group and individual behavior.
B)are innate utterances produced in response to external stimuli.
C)cannot be "translated" or found to produce meaning to individuals within the group.
D)are only understood by the offspring of the individual producing the vocalization.

Question 50

In studies of primate cognition and tool use, researchers have taught chimpanzees to crack open nuts with stones.Later in life, these chimpanzees have taught other young chimpanzees and offspring the same skill.This could be considered

A)social transmission of learned behavior.
B)a type of "culture" that is learned and passed between individuals.
C)evidence of the cognitive capabilities of primates.
D)all of the above.

Question 51

Describe the range of primate residence patterns.Relate social grouping to food and reproduction.