Researchers at Durham University conducted a study examining how chimpanzees and bonobos use physical contact to manage social tension and prepare for conflict. The investigation focused on reassuring behaviors such as touching, embracing, and kissing that occur before potentially stressful situations, particularly around competition for food.
The study involved observing apes at sanctuaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Scientists designed an experiment mimicking natural feeding conditions by introducing peanuts to groups of apes and recording their behavior during the five-minute period before food arrival, when the animals anticipated the incoming resources. Researchers documented instances of physical contact and reassurance during this period.
The findings revealed that individuals engaging in touching and embracing were more successful at accessing food and eating peacefully alongside one another. Groups displaying greater social tolerance exhibited higher frequencies of reassuring contact, including what researchers termed “reassurance trains,” in which multiple apes embraced sequentially. Notably, chimpanzees—despite their reputation for aggression—participated actively in close contact behaviors, including placing fingers in one another’s mouths.
According to Prof Zanna Clay, the behavior functions as “a rallying cry” before challenging events, similar to team huddles before sporting competitions. Dr Jake Brooker emphasized that the practice provides insight into how both ape species and humans manage tension and foster cooperation. Researchers suggest that social touch as a trust-building mechanism likely originated at least seven million years ago, before the evolutionary divergence of humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos from a common ancestor.
The study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, indicates that contemporary human practices—such as team huddles or congratulatory gestures before stressful events—may derive from an ancient social communication system predating language itself.
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