Please join us for a special presentation—truly pioneering research that is leading to cross-species understanding of adolescence as a unique period of learning and development.

Adolescence as a period of vulnerabilities and opportunities: New perspectives from field studies in chimpanzees and bonobos

Like humans, our closest non-human relatives—chimpanzees and bonobos—undergo a multiyear developmental period of adolescence. Following the onset of puberty, individuals in both species behave differently from juveniles as well as from independent, socially competent adults. For example, adolescent chimpanzees of both sexes seek new types of social interactions with non-caregivers. This often leads to experiences of social rejection and a wide range of risky situations where adolescent chimpanzees may incur harm (e.g., unfamiliar “neighborhoods” within the territory; lethal territorial boundary patrols). There are also striking sex differences. Adolescent female chimpanzees emigrate permanently to new and unfamiliar groups despite considering other groups lethal “enemies” in other stages of life. I will begin by describing these developmental behavioral shifts and others that characterize adolescence in chimpanzees and bonobos. Next, I will highlight how these changes can simultaneously contribute to learning that promotes sex-and-species-specific social success and vulnerabilities such as rejection-induced emotional distress and death. Then, I will detail potential strategies that chimpanzees and bonobos employ to promote social success and protect against vulnerabilities during adolescence. Last, I will examine how early life experiences might shape individuals’ abilities to employ these strategies.

Bio

Rachna Reddy is a postdoctoral fellow in Human Evolutionary Biology and Psychology at Harvard University. Her research aims to uncover an evolutionary basis for the role that social relationships play in human life. By following individual chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest relatives, in the wild, she investigates how individuals develop, learn, and survive through social relationships, particularly during the formative life stage of adolescence. She has conducted annual field research on the largest known chimpanzee group in the world since 2013. Recently, she began a comparative study on wild bonobos. Her chimpanzee research takes place at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and bonobo research in Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is currently working to integrate clinical perspectives into these longitudinal research programs.