Several experiments have been performed, to examine whether nonhuman primates are able to make use of experimenter-given manual and facial (visual) cues to direct their attention to a baited object. Contrary to the performance of prosimians and monkeys, great apes repeatedly have shown task efficiency in experiments such as these. However, many great ape subjects used have been "enculturated" individuals. In the present study, 3 nonenculturated orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were tested for their ability to use experimenter-given pointing, gazing, and glancing cues in an object-choice task. All subjects readily made use of the pointing gesture. However, when subjects were left with only gazing or glancing cues, their performance deteriorated markedly, and they were not able to complete the task.

Several experiments have been performed to examine the great apes' use of experimenter-given manual and visual cues in object-choice tasks. Considering their use of referential gestures in gaze-following paradigms, great apes perform surprisingly unsuccessfully in object-choice tasks. However, the large majority of object-choice experiments have been conducted with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) with very few experiments including other great ape species, making it difficult to generalize about the great apes. Interestingly, the only object-choice task conducted with gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) has indicated successful use of both manual and visual cues. It was the aim of the present study to gather more data on gorillas' use of human manual and facial cues on the object-choice task. Gorilla subjects in this study did not show consistent use of three types of referential cues.

All over the world, humans (Homo sapiens) display resource-sharing behavior, and common patterns of sharing seem to exist across cultures. Humans are not the only primates to share, and observations from the wild have long documented food sharing behavior in our closest phylogenetic relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). However, few controlled studies have been made in which groups of Pan are introduced to food items that may be shared or monopolized by a first food possessor, and very few studies have examined what happens to these sharing patterns if the food in question is a highly attractive, monopolizable food source. The one study to date to include food quality as the independent variable used different types of food as high- and low-value items, making differences in food divisibility and size potentially confounding factors. It was the aim of the present study to examine the sharing behavior of groups of captive chimpanzees and bonobos when introducing the same type of food (branches) manipulated to be of 2 different degrees of desirability (with or without syrup). Results showed that the large majority of food transfers in both species came about as sharing in which group members were allowed to cofeed or remove food from the stock of the food possessor, and the introduction of high-value food resulted in more sharing, not less. Food sharing behavior differed between species in that chimpanzees displayed significantly more begging behavior than bonobos. Bonobos, instead, engaged in sexual invitations, which the chimpanzees never did. (PsycINFO Database Record

Referential gestures are of pivotal importance to the human species. We effortlessly make use of each others' referential gestures to attend to the same things, and our ability to use these gestures show themselves from very early in life. Almost 20 years ago, James Anderson and colleagues presented an experimental paradigm with which to examine the use of referential gestures in non-human primates: the object-choice task. Since then, numerous object-choice studies have been made, not only with primates but also with a range of other animal taxa. Surprisingly, several non-primate species appear to perform better in the object-choice task than primates do. Different hypotheses have been offered to explain the results. Some of these have employed generalizations about primates or subsets of primate taxa that do not take into account the unparalleled diversity that exists between species within the primate order on parameters relevant to the requirements of the object-choice task, such as social structure, feeding ecology, and general morphology. To examine whether these broad primate generalizations offer a fruitful organizing framework within which to interpret the results, a review was made of all published primate results on the use of gazing and glancing cues with species ordered along the primate phylogenetic tree. It was concluded that differences between species may be larger than differences between ancestry taxa, and it is suggested that we need to start rethinking why we are testing animals on experimental paradigms that do not take into account what are the challenges of their natural habitat.

Tværkulturelle undersøgelser har påvist betydelige forskelle mellem mænd og kvinders seksualitet. Således er der blandt en lang række andre resultater fundet signifikante forskelle i, hvilke fysiske, sociale og psykologiske karakteristika der anses for tiltrækkende hos det modsatte køn; hvilke omstændigheder der virker jalousi-fremkaldende; antallet af forskellige seksualpartnere, man ønsker sig gennem et livsforløb; hvor lang tid, der skal gå, før man vil dyrke sex med en ny partner eller fremmed samt hvordan man vurderer forholdet mellem sex og kærlighed. Flere modeller er blevet fremsat til at forklare kønsforskellene i seksuelle præferencer, bl.a. seksualstrategi-teorien, der ud fra et evolutionspsykologisk perspektiv ser på mænd og kvinders respektive investering i deres fælles børn og de mulige kønsforskelle, der relaterer sig til dette. I denne artikel præsenteres det evolutionspsykologiske paradigme, og seksualstrategi-teorien vurderes ud fra de resultater, der er fremkommet tværkulturelt og mere specifikt i Skandinavien. Slutteligt introduceres to undersøgelser, der for tiden er under udførelse med en dansk population af mænd og kvinder.