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Development of infant independence in a captive group of lowland gorillas
Author(s) -
Hoff Michael P.,
Nadler Ronald D.,
Maple Terry L.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.420140314
Subject(s) - gorilla , independence (probability theory) , psychology , demography , infant development , demographics , developmental psychology , biology , sociology , paleontology , statistics , mathematics
In March 1976, 3 lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) were born to primiparous females living with an adult male in a large compound at the field station of the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center of Emory University. Observations of parent and infant behavior began at the birth of the infants, using several methods of data collection. This report focuses on the development of independence in these infants over the 1st 1½ years of life. As expected, measures of mother‐infant contact and proximity decreased with age. Several measures suggested that infant independence developed as an interactive process between mothers and infants, with primary responsibility changing over the months of study. Maternal behaviors that served to maintain mother‐infant contact were found to decrease with age, with an eventual shift to infant responsibility for contact maintenance. Additionally, the adult male appeared to influence developing independence as reflected in the maternal protectiveness evoked by his behavior.