SerpApi.Org
On the brink of a tough conversation? Try holding hands.
At least, that is how chimpanzees alleviate tension before potential conflict, according to scientists.
A study found that apes would touch hands and kiss when they knew they were about to be fed a bucket of peanuts – a moment that could cause hostility.
By pre-empting potential fighting over food with physical contact, the chimpanzees were friendlier with each other when the food arrived five minutes later.
The findings suggest that holding hands could also reduce tension before conflict between humans, a researcher for the study said.
Prof Zanna Clay, a researcher for the study, told The Telegraph: “Humans, like chimpanzees and bonobos, have to deal with competition and stressful situations every day, and like them, we need to co-operate.
“Before you give someone bad news, you might sit them down and give them a friendly touch. People have messaged me today, telling me that before they speak to their in-laws, they’ll have a hug with their partner.
The research, which studied chimpanzees and bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, found that animals would kiss and pat one another during staged five-minute periods in which they knew they were about to receive the peanuts.
Prof Clay and Jake Brooker, a lead researcher on the study, wrote in The Conversation: “One example is when [the apes] discover a tree laden with ripe fruit. More often, apes reach out to one another with friendly touch: embracing, patting and making gentle contact.”
Chimpanzees would also place fingers in one another’s mouths and hold each other’s genitals during tense moments – an “extraordinarily risky” act for a species known for lethal aggression, the scientists noted.
They added: “Perhaps, the vulnerability is itself the signal of trust. You only offer a risky contact if you are confident the other animal won’t bite. And this communicates something important about how you see the relationship.”
Prof Clay told The Telegraph: “Handshakes are a formalised signal, but very likely based on that idea too, that we trust each other and want to co-operate.”
She added: “There’s lots of evidence from team sports like basketball and football that physical touch can even promote performance. Touching each other reduces stress but also improves social relationships.”
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, reflect existing research on humans.
Negotiators who shook hands – a signal of co-operative intent – made better deals and lied less, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2019.
Humans tend to think they are “exceptional”, Prof Clay said, but many of our behaviours reflect those of our great ape ancestors.
She added: “I guess you could encourage politicians in our Parliament to do the same. Maybe we need more hand-holding in Parliament. Could really help us.”
Physical contact has long been understood to alleviate stress and increase social attachment.
Virginia Satir, an American psychotherapist, is credited with the finding that we need at least four hugs a day to “survive”, eight to “sustain” and 12 to “thrive” – an idea backed up by a 1995 study, which found that it takes four hugs a day to alleviate symptoms of depression.
