NPR

Unlike Humans, Bonobos Shun Helpers And Befriend The Bullies

Given a choice, bonobos tend to prefer people who act like jerks and dominate. That's very different than humans, who even as infants consistently prefer people who are cooperative and not mean.
Two bonobos play fight at the Lola Ya Bonobo sanctuary in Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012.

Even very young babies can tell the difference between someone who's helpful and someone who's mean — and lab studies show that babies consistently prefer the helpers.

But one of humans' closest relatives — the bonobo — makes a different choice, preferring to cozy up to the meanies.

That's according to experiments Thursday in the journal , by scientists who wanted to explore the evolutionary origins of humans' unusually

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR1 min read
Bringing A Tariff To A Graphite Fight
Graphite is sort of the one-hit wonder of minerals. And that hit? Pencils. Everyone loves to talk about pencils when it comes to graphite. If graphite were to perform a concert, they'd close out the show with "pencils," and everyone would clap and ch
NPR3 min read
Hold On To Your Wishes — There's A 'Spider In The Well'
There's trouble in the town of Bad Göodsburg! A wishing well has stopped working! NPR's Tamara Keith talks with Jess Hannigan about her new children's book, "Spider in the Well."
NPR3 min read
US National Security Adviser And Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Hold Security Deal Talks
President Joe Biden's national security adviser met early Sunday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss a wide-ranging security agreement between the countries.

Related Books & Audiobooks