A new study has shown that human and chimpanzee teens are not so different especially when it comes to day-to-day struggles.
Researchers conducting the study worked with 40 wild chimpanzees at a sanctuary in Congo and went on to test the animal’s orientation towards risk-taking and impulsivity.
The study results, published on January 23 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General by the American Psychological Association, the difference is little, your teen might be more impulsive.
“Human adolescents are grappling with changing bodies and brains, and tend to be more impulsive, risk-seeking, and less able to regulate emotions than adults,” said lead study author Dr. Alexandra Rosati, associate professor of psychology and anthropology at the University of Michigan.
“Chimpanzees face many of the same kinds of challenges as humans as they grow up.”
Just like humans, chimps between ages 8-15 for a 50-year lifespan showed rapid hormone changes, new social binds, and increased aggression like humans.
The new study found that adolescent chimpanzees were more likely to take risks in their games than their adult counterparts, but they were just as likely to wait for a greater delayed reward.
But human teens are known to be more likely to take a smaller, more immediate reward, the study noted.
The first test involved a bit of gambling. Both adult and teen chimpanzees were asked to choose between two containers: one that always had peanuts and another that had either the dreaded cucumber or treasured banana, the study said.
The chimpanzees underwent two tests with food rewards. These animals tended to dislike cucumbers while liking peanuts somewhat and loving bananas.
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The adolescent chimps were more likely to take a risk and go for the cucumber or banana container than the adults, the study said. Both groups showed similar negative reactions – such as moaning, whimpering, screaming and banging on the table – when they ended up with a cucumber.
In the second test, chimpanzees were given a test similar to a commonly used one for human children, where they could choose between one banana slice immediately or waiting a minute for three slices. Both adult and adolescent chimpanzees waited similarly, but adolescent chimpanzees were more likely to become impatient while waiting.
“Prior work indicates that chimpanzees are quite patient compared to other animals, and this study shows that their ability to delay gratification is already mature at a fairly young age, unlike in humans,” Rosati said.
That doesn’t mean that teens are not capable of good decision-making and long-term planning, she added – you just have to help set them up for success.
“When things are calm, they are able to problem solve just as well as adults,” Talib said.
“And while their brains may be undergoing changes, be sure to call out the things they are doing well,” Talib added.