Adult Social Relationships in Primates

Like other animals, primates tend to live in social groups where they communicate with one another and interact in both agonistic and affiliative ways. Primates are capable of forming various social bonds that can impact the individual’s health and well-being. Social behavior is flexible and dynamic, and the social organization of primates is complex. Primates of different species form various types of bonds with conspecifics. These relationships include pair bonds, friendships, coalitions, and other bonds among kin. Social relationships are a critical component of group life, where affiliative or aggressive interactions can have fitness consequences on the individual. In mammals, these different types of social relationships are regulated by different hormonal systems such as the oxytocin and vasopressin systems. The goal of this chapter is to provide a deeper understanding of different types of adult social relationships in primates by reviewing the variation in primate social behaviors and the neurobiology underlying it.