PRIMATE SOCIAL BEHAVIORS FOLLOWING INDUCTION AND REHABILITATION FROM MULTIDEFICIENT AND FLUCTUATING DIET SCHEDULES

• Main Author: ZIMMERMANN, LINDA
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-1981
• Subjects: Experimental psychology; Experiments; Psychology
• ISBN: 9798204392410

A three part experiment was conducted to determine if a rapid fluctuation of diet would disrupt developing social behaviors of juvenile rhesus monkeys. The experiment was designed to challenge the traditional vulnerability model of malnutrition. An adaptation model alternative was proposed. This model assumes that complex organisms are normally capable of making adjustive responses to multiple nutritional deficiencies. Three groups of four rhesus monkeys each were constituted. One group was fed a nutritionally complete diet of 1 RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance). A second group was provided a deficient diet of 1/2 RDA. The third group received a diet which systematically cycled between the 1/2 and 1 RDA diets. It was predicted, according to the adaptation model, that the steadily malnourished 1/2 RDA animals would show more normal social development than the animals whose diet continually shifted between 1/2 and 1 RDA. Behavioral disruptions were predicted to be greatest in the fluctuating group whose normal adjustive mechanisms were disrupted. Following stabilization of dietary shifts (Part I), interactions of animals from the different diet groups were observed (Part II). A rehabilitation phase (Part III) concluded the experiment. Adaptation model predictions were supported in that the fluctuating group monkeys showed a significantly higher proportion of maladaptive behavior, in the form of Stereotypic Pacing and Passive Sitting. A corresponding deficit in normal Play behavior and Social Exploration was also noted. Results were discussed in terms of: (1) other models of failures of adaptation, (2) a vulnerability/adaptations interaction model, and (3) implications for social policies and future research.