Only humans show their teeth in friendship
- Thread starter chuckpeterson
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The Barbarian
Crabby Old White Guy
- Apr 3, 2003
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Actually, a chimp "smile" is a display of fear or an attempt to intimidate something deemed threatening.
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Actually, a chimp "smile" is a display of fear or an attempt to intimidate something deemd threatening.
Except the evidence suggests this isn't the case:
Differential Behavioural Effects of Silent Bared Teeth Display and Relaxed Open Mouth Display in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Bridget M. Waller, Robin I. M. Dunbar
First published: 03 February 2005
Abstract
This study examines the behavioural consequences of the silent bared teeth display (SBT) and the relaxed open mouth display (ROM) in the chimpanzee, and discusses functional similarities with smiling and laughing (respectively) in humans. Rates of affinitive behaviour increase (in relation to baseline levels) following SBT, suggesting that SBT is a signal of affinity. ROM is observed primarily during play, and dyadic play bouts are significantly longer when ROM is bidirectional, indicating that it may be a signal of play. Rates of affinitive behaviour also increased after ROM, suggesting that both displays may have a similar ultimate (evolutionary) function – social bonding; this could explain convergence of the two displays in humans.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2004.01045.x
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