Socially mediated reduction in emotional responses of young rhesus monkeys.

Abstract

“Two studies investigated the effect of various social stimuli upon emotional responsiveness of 12 young rhesus monkeys raised in the laboratory in the visual presence of other young monkeys . . ‥ results suggest that the nature of Ss' previous social experience was an important determinant of stimulus effectiveness in reducing emotional distress. The capacity of a social stimulus to mitigate emotional disturbance did not appear to be dependent upon nor derived from feeding or other nurturant experience.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)