Peeing Is Socially Contagious In Chimps (404media.co) 55
After observing 20 chimpanzees for over 600 hours, researchers in Japan found that chimps are more likely to urinate after witnessing others do so. "[T]he team meticulously recorded the number and timing of 'urination events' along with the relative distances between 'the urinator and potential followers,'" writes 404 Media's Becky Ferreira. "The results revealed that urination is, in fact, socially contagious for chimps and that low-dominant individuals were especially likely to pee after watching others pee. Call it: pee-r pressure." The findings have been published in the journal Cell Biology. From the study: The decision to urinate involves a complex combination of both physiological and social considerations. However, the social dimensions of urination remain largely unexplored. More specifically, aligning urination in time (i.e. synchrony) and the triggering of urination by observing similar behavior in others (i.e. social contagion) are thought to occur in humans across different cultures (Figure S1A), and possibly also in non-human animals. However, neither has been scientifically quantified in any species.
Contagious urination, like other forms of behavioral and emotional state matching, may have important implications in establishing and maintaining social cohesion, in addition to potential roles in preparation for collective departure (i.e. voiding before long-distance travel) and territorial scent-marking (i.e. coordination of chemosensory signals). Here, we report socially contagious urination in chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, as measured through all-occurrence recording of 20 captive chimpanzees across >600 hours. Our results suggest that socially contagious urination may be an overlooked, and potentially widespread, facet of social behavior.
In conclusion, we find that in captive chimpanzees the act of urination is socially contagious. Further, low-dominance individuals had higher rates of contagion. We found no evidence that this phenomenon is moderated by dyadic affiliation. It remains possible that latent individual factors associated with low dominance status (e.g. vigilance and attentional bias, stress levels, personality traits) might shape the contagion of urination, or alternatively that there are true dominance-driven effects. In any case, our results raise several new and important questions around contagious urination across species, from ethology to psychology to endocrinology. [...]
Contagious urination, like other forms of behavioral and emotional state matching, may have important implications in establishing and maintaining social cohesion, in addition to potential roles in preparation for collective departure (i.e. voiding before long-distance travel) and territorial scent-marking (i.e. coordination of chemosensory signals). Here, we report socially contagious urination in chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, as measured through all-occurrence recording of 20 captive chimpanzees across >600 hours. Our results suggest that socially contagious urination may be an overlooked, and potentially widespread, facet of social behavior.
In conclusion, we find that in captive chimpanzees the act of urination is socially contagious. Further, low-dominance individuals had higher rates of contagion. We found no evidence that this phenomenon is moderated by dyadic affiliation. It remains possible that latent individual factors associated with low dominance status (e.g. vigilance and attentional bias, stress levels, personality traits) might shape the contagion of urination, or alternatively that there are true dominance-driven effects. In any case, our results raise several new and important questions around contagious urination across species, from ethology to psychology to endocrinology. [...]
I will tell you a secret (Score:1)
Here is a way to save a little money on this very important research: when a group of people walk past a toilet, some will need to go in and others may go in and actually use it as well, because it is a toilet on the way and since some are already using it, the time is already being spent, so why not?
Next we need to investigate why people and chimps eat in groups, why they sleep at night, how come children are all required to study?
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Could have looked at the last 8 editions of the Tour de France instead.
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Go now (Score:3)
because who knows when is the next chance?
Teenage mixed sex groups (Score:2)
Anybody who has ever gone out with a group of teenagers, know that adolescent human females exhibit the same behavior.
and the big fan keeps the pilot cool (Score:3)
If the pilot starts peeing, pretty soon I'm right there with them.
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If the pilot is doing it then it's not only peeing...
Peeing Is Socially Contagious In China (Score:1)
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What, no nazi reference this time? Don't you know it's obligatory these days?
Give Elon a shout.
And human women (Score:3)
Why is it women always have to go to the toilet in groups when out? Answers on a postcard.
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Why is it women always have to go to the toilet in groups when out? Answers on a postcard.
We should just observe the fact that female logic has a distant cousin in nature.
It’s gonna take a lot more than chimps pissing to crack that code.
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"female logic"
Probably one of human languages earliest oxymoron ;)
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That's why there should be women-only bars, strange that no-one admits that. That is a good solution to the problem, an answer that everyone agrees, will eliminate bad behaviour.
Other good news is, teens spend much less time in mixed company, much less time socializing with the opposite sex, less time dating. Already, it's much less likely for a female to be "cornered and raped".
Nowadays, males hide in the cubicles and males go to the toilet in groups. Do you think women go into the cubicles so other
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Why is it women always have to go to the toilet in groups when out? Answers on a postcard.
As a person that gets curious about human behaviors and how much of them stem from some older, pre-modern necessities, I've often theorized that men were used to braving leaving the tribe alone for purposes of hunting, scouting, traveling between tribes for trade, and other purposes, so wouldn't think twice about heading out alone for bathroom necessities. Women were used to staying in the tribe, and since scavenger animals that may attack would stay gathered close to human settlements, if they headed to th
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My theory is, traditionally, donning tight-fitting clothes that women tend to wear, was a two person job. Plus, a mirror might not be available, requiring an ally to fix make-up and appearance. Now, males head to the toilet in groups. Sometimes it's middle-aged males, and it's a problem when a trio of 10 year-olds are loitering beside the cubicles. Which might be why the public pool raised the age of supervision to 12. That in turn, requires single-dads to take their daughter into the men's change-room
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I hate every ape I see (Score:2)
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From chim-pan-a to chim-pan-zee.
Doesn't work for me - I'm Canadian, so the last letter of the alphabet is Zed.
Re: I hate every ape I see (Score:2)
Whereas... (Score:1)
All liquid flow is contagious⦠(Score:2)
Come on, if we had to actually watch each other pee it would be contagious too. Thereâ(TM)s a reason I have to pee after running the tap (faucet)â¦.
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Come on, if we had to actually watch each other pee it would be contagious too. Thereâ(TM)s a reason I have to pee after running the tap (faucet)â¦.
Came here to say the same thing. Also, to wonder if this behaviour might be related to the "contagiousness" of yawning. And thence to wonder if psychopaths are immune to 'pee contagion', as they are to 'yawn contagion'.
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I was under the impression that yawns are contagious as an alertness mechanism, putting off sleep for the activity in progress, even guard duty or whatever.
Laughter being somewhat opposite, a disarm flag, everyone expresses relief at an unresolved stimulus (rustling bushes reveal a rabbit not a tiger, or maybe even active tiger slain) being resolved and signals to trade adrenaline for relaxants. Humor being built atop the same resolution mechanism, an inconsistency (anomaly, threat) presents unexpectedly, i
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See a doctor.
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Come on, if we had to actually watch each other pee it would be contagious too.
Seems that German pR0n agrees.
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Won't be studying that in chimps soon though; they seem too intelligent to destroy their own social fabric.
Damn - if I hadn't already posted I'd mod you up as Insightful.
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You forgot the most important one: yawning.
Made you do it!
Connection? (Score:2)
Peeing Is Socially Contagious In Chimps.
That is so interesting because poop smearing is Socially Contagious In MAGA drones. I wonder if there is a connection?
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Peeing Is Socially Contagious In Chimps.
That is so interesting because poop smearing is Socially Contagious In MAGA drones. I wonder if there is a connection?
Hate to admit it, but I'm still LMAO as I write this.
A ha! (Score:2)
Aperitif (Score:2)
Dog just wanted a fancy drink?
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Dog just wanted a fancy drink?
They won’t hesitate to get up in there and huff fresh stuff with a sense of smell 1000x more sensitive than ours. What are we missing out on?
Re: A ha! (Score:2)
I am convinced that my cat comes and stands guard when I am peeing, because I am in a vulnerable state.
Did anyone record the researchers? (Score:2)
And in other news (Score:2)
Chimpanzees also fling poo.
Well... (Score:1)
That's a pisser.
Monkey see Monkey do... (Score:2)
So its like Sneezing. (Score:1)
This study looks like a ... (Score:2)
Crap now I gotta pee (Score:2)
Just having read this.
This study will definitely come up again... (Score:2)
Pee time! (Score:2)
I need to go pee now. :P
But what about the farts? (Score:2)
The farts have fallen by the wayside in this research. They at least deserve mention! They are contagious, well, in the form of laughter but anyway. Contagious and competitive!