|
Many characteristics distinguish the primate group from other mammals. Besides physical traits, they place a special emphasis on learning in a social context as opposed to genetically fixed responses. This mode of information transmission is usually passed on from parent to child, though other members of the group may participate and exert an influence. Learning is of extreme importance due to their life in groups and extensive use of communication, both verbal and nonverbal. Individuals must be taught the rules of the group and how to interact with others of his/her species. Such groups are held together by social relationships (with peers, sex partners, allies, and kin), attraction to infants (due to their compelling vulnerability), and common needs (shelter, protection, communication, and learning).
The group system provides many advantages for the indivuduals within them. Other mammals do not enjoy the benefits of group life because their evolutionary needs have not adapted them to community living. Group life provides primates with facilitated sexual encounters, knowledge of food location and control of resources (greater ecological efficiency), greater ability to detect predators, and cooperation in hunting which allows for killing larger game. The “confusion effect” is also advantageous for group members in situations where they are the prey for an animal higher on the food chain. The "confusion effect" operates on the principle that the larger the number of prey, the more difficult it is for a predator to concentrate on one individual, decreasing it chances of success. Thus, an animal in a group is more likely to evade a predator on the prowl because the predator is not able to focus its attention on one specific animal.
However, group life also entails certian disadvantages, such as increased intrasexual competition, the exclusion of males (the expendable resource), diseases, xenophobia, and the fact that larger groups are more conspicuous to predators. The intrasexual competition felt by mating members of the group contributes to the survival of the fittest within the group and ultimately leads to a stronger evolutionary gene pool from which the next generations will be born. If a weak male is killed by a stronger male in a battle over sexual competition, then only the strong male will live to reproduce and the offspring of the group will inherit his stronger traits. Since males can reproduce very frequently, only one male is necessary to produce an entire subsequent generation. However, women are more valuable to the continuation of the group because they nurture the offspring and provide them one at a time (usually for primates).
The spread of contagious diseases is another disadvantage of group life which primates must face, though other mammmals do not necesesarily deal with this issue. It is much easier to contract a disease when one is continuously exposed to a larger population of potential disease-carriers, especially when a new individual is introduced to the group who may be carrying foreign pathogens and passing them on to other group members. Xenophobia, the fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners, may instigate exclusive relationships for xeonophobic individuals within the group, and this favoritism may cause interpersonal problems. This situation is characteristic of humans rather than primates in general, and prevents inter-group reaction between those with xenophobia. Finally, the larger groups of primates are more conspicuous to predators than solitary mammals, but this is counterbalanced by the "confusion effect" which was discussed previously.
Humans form groups that are held together by culture, and the number of members is related to the title of the group. For example, a "couple" is a group of 2, usually either man-woman or the bond between a mother and her infant. Furthermore, a "nuclear family" consists of 3 or more individuals within a family. Larger than this, social organization into a "band" consists of several nuclear families, and a "tribe" is a level of organization above that. On a larger scale, "chiefdoms" and finally, the "state" are the largest human groups. A state is a stable group of tribes with sedentary agriculture and monumental architecture. A nation is a group of states with military forces and formed priesthoods. With more people comes differences in structure and form of the group, generally increased formalization of religon, decreased individuation, and the emergence of social stratification and hierarchies.
Groups are stable throughout time, and play a crucial role in the development and lives of humans and all primates, serving to distinguish them in many ways from other mammals.
|
| |
