So far, little research has looked at the developmental and evolutionary roots of social curiosity, this motivation to glean information on the actions, relationships and psychology of others. The international team led by Dr Laura Simone Lewis of the University of California in Santa Barbara wanted to fill this gap by directly comparing Chimpanzees and children. “”After having observed for years children and chimpanzees to abandon their activities to look at what their peers did, we wanted to explore this track in research on curiosity“Said the researcher in a press release.
When curiosity prevails over glut
To do this, the researchers conducted three experiences to the Ngamba Island sanctuary in Uganda and in several Californian sites, including the Oakland Zoo. They built “curiosity boxes”, wooden structures each containing a tablet. The principle: two boxes side by side, one distributing videos of social interactions (grooming, game, arguments), the other showing an individual alone. Participants had to choose which box to open. Chimpanzees and children aged 4 to 6 systematically chose social scenes.
The second experience pushed the analysis further. This time, participants had to choose between a concrete reward (jacquier seeds for chimpanzees, balls for children) and access to social videos. Part of them have given up their treats to satisfy their curiosity, especially young children and chimpanzee males. A renunciation which suggests that social information has an intrinsic value, beyond any immediate benefit.
But not all types of social interactions are equal. During a third experience, the researchers tested if the participants preferred to watch videos of positive scenes (grooming, game) or negative scenes (conflicts). The chimpanzees have shown no particular preference. In children, it is different: the more they grow, the more their tastes are becoming clearer. Boys are developing an increasing interest in conflicts and arguments, while girls prefer to observe harmonious interactions such as play or moments of complicity.
A common heritage of millions of years
These discoveries upset our vision of social curiosity. For the first time, a study directly compares humans and chimpanzees with the same protocol, revealing striking similarities between these two distant cousins. The implications go far beyond the behavioral anecdote: they suggest that our collective obsession for the privacy of others has very old origins. “Our lively interest in the life of others-think of people magazines and reality TV shows-seems to have deep evolutionary roots in our line of great apes,” analyzes Dr Lewis.
Far from being a simple entertainment, this curiosity fulfills an essential function. Observe the interactions of others tells us about alliances, conflicts, hierarchies. It helps us to anticipate behavior and identify reliable or dangerous individuals. A competence that benefits humans as much as to our primate cousins. “”This curiosity teaches us to sail in our social environment, to make decisions and to build relationships. This is something that helps not only humans, but also our closest parents to survive and prosper in complex social groups“Explains Dr Esther Herrmann, lecturer at the University of Portsmouth and co -authority of the study.
This work paves the way for new investigations. Testing bonobos and orangutans would specify the evolutionary tree of this social curiosity, while the analysis of factors such as familiarity or the types of relationships would refine our understanding of its mechanisms. More broadly, these discoveries transform our gaze on this human fascination for the life of others. What we may take for a contemporary flaw actually reveals a heritage shared with our common ancestors of millions of years ago. An ancestral curiosity that undoubtedly helped us to become what we are.