Ecological Synergies in Two Groups of Zoo Chimpanzees: Divergent Patterns of Time Use

Abstract

This study investigated how two groups of zoo chimpanzees, one that lived in a small and mostly barren physical habitat yet had a successful social history and the other that lived in a larger and more enriched physical habitat yet had a turbulent social history, invested time occupationally. Different ecological synergies were found to emerge from these respective conditions and to influence time use in highly particularistic ways. As related to considerations of adaptedness, the limits of enriched physical environs when coupled with a dearth of social facilitation were revealed, as were the limits of social facilitation within impoverished physical spaces. Findings suggest that occupational therapists' expertise in activity analysis could be enlarged to encompass analysis of naturally socially embedded ways of doing things across multiple contexts. To advance the ethic of occupational justice, functional assessments of individuals could also be expanded into functional assessments of the occupational aliveness of proximate life environments.

Social identification with animals: Unpacking our psychological connection with other animals.

“…Study 7 further examined distinct reactions to animals associated with each of the three dimensions of the IWAM by focusing on one specific and contested context toward which people can have highly varying opinions, namely zoos. Indeed, whereas some people can feel concerned for zoo animals, others consider that zoos are beneficial for humans, and others perceive that zoos are a safe space for animals (Clayton et al, 2009;Wood, 2002). This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.…”

The Lived Environment Life Quality Model for institutionalized people with dementia

“…The model's premises were first refined through research using a captive-nonhuman-primate scientific model (Wood, 2002(Wood, , 2014. These studies presumed that zoos share key features of human institutions described by Goffman (1961): formally admininstered rounds of activities that structure recurring routines of daily life and occupants who are not free to leave.…”

Balancing Efficacy and Effectiveness with Philosophy, History, and Theory-Building in Occupational Therapy Education Research

“…That is, philosophy and history offered the initial premise for the transactions among environment, time use, and well-being. To further develop the premises of the LELQ model, Wood (1998aWood ( , 1998bWood ( , 2002 then integrated theory from sociology, gerontology, and environmental psychology with scholarship in occupational therapy. The model's premises that grew from philosophical, historical, and theoretical inquiries were then operationalized.…”