Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Are male rhesus monkeys more aggressive than females?

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Primates Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The justification for the “generalization that primate males are more aggressive than females” (Fedigan & Baxter, 1984) was tested in a troop of 24 captive rhesus monkeys. Males (N=9) were more dominant than females (N=15), i.e., they had more subordinate partners (\(\bar x\) m=17.0 vs.\(\bar x\) f=6.6;p<0.01); hence, their aggression rate was higher (\(\bar x\) m=77.6 vs.\(\bar x\) m=38.1;p<0.05). However, adjusting the rate of aggression according to the number of subordinate targets revealed no gender difference and males directed numbers of aggressive acts against individual subordinate partners that were not higher than those of females (\(\bar x\) m=4.4 vs.\(\bar x\) f=5.4;p>0.1). It was concluded that aggressiveness is an individual attribute that is (1) independent of dominance status, and (2) independent of sex.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • D'Andrade, R. G., 1966. Sex differences and cultural institutions. In:The Development of Sex Differences,E. E. Maccoby (ed.), Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, pp. 190–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedigan, L. M. &M. J. Baxter, 1984. Sex differences and social organization in free-ranging spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi).Primates, 25: 279–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maccoby, E. E. &C. N. Jacklin, 1974.The Psychology of Sex Differences. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, G., 1979.Behavioral Sex Differences in Nonhuman Primates. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1981.Human Sex Differences. A Primatologists's Perspective. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poirier, F. E., 1977. Introduction. In:Primate Bio-social Development,S. Chevalier-Skolnikoff &F. E. Poirier (eds.), Garland Publ., New York, pp. 1–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt V., A. Reinhardt, & C. Reinhardt, 1987. Evaluating sex differences in aggressiveness in cattle, bison and rhesus monkeys.Behaviour, in press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, 1223 Capitol Court, 53715-1299, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

    Viktor Reinhardt

Authors
  1. Viktor Reinhardt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

About this article

Cite this article

Reinhardt, V. Are male rhesus monkeys more aggressive than females?. Primates 28, 123–125 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02382190

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02382190

Key Words

Search

Navigation