Tolerant and despotic macaques show divergent temperament but similar theory of mind

The social intelligence hypothesis proposes that the demands of social life shape the evolution of cognition, but different aspects of social interactions may be relevant. To test how competitive versus cooperative interactions shape social cognition, we assessed multiple metrics of social cognition in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus, n = 40) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, n = 60). These closely related species have similar social organization, but diverge in social styles: Barbary macaques are more tolerant, whereas rhesus macaques are more despotic. Monkeys completed a battery of experimental tasks measuring gaze-following (co-orienting with others); knowledge attribution (representing others’ underlying knowledge states); goal attribution (interpreting others’ actions in terms of underlying intentional goals); and temperament (boldness in response to exploring novelty). While the rhesus macaques were more willing to approach a novel object than Barbary macaques, both species ..., , # Tolerant and despotic macaques show divergent temperament but similar theory of mind

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.2fqz61319](10.5061/dryad.2fqz61319)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset consists of five files (.xlsx format) with the data from this study along with associated R analysis scripts. There is a data file for each individual task the monkeys completed (Gaze, Goal Attribution, Knowledge Attribution, and Temperament) as well as a final file used for analyses of performance across multiple tasks (Cross-Task Relationships).

Each task data file includes subject identification; subject characteristics (species, sex, age); relevant experimental variables (trial number, condition); and the response variable of interest (e.g., if monkeys looked up for the Gaze Task, looking time in seconds for Goal Attribution and Knowledge Attribution Tasks; whether they approached for the Temperament Task). Each file includes a key tab where all variables reported in the m...,