Triadic interactions in captive Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvana): ""Agonistic buffering"" (1982)

Smith, E. O., Peffer-Smith, P. G.

Abstract

This study presents data on the expression of male-immature triadic interactions, previously termed agonistic buffering, in a captiveMacaca sylvanusgroup. Agonistic buffering has been hypothesized as inhibiting or modifying the expression of aggression. This was tested by examining (1) the dominance ranks of the animals involved in the triadic interactions, (2) the events preceding and following the triadic interactions, and (3) the presence of an infant in nonagonistic encounters between juvenile, subadult, and adult males. The results obtained do not support the hypothesis of agonistic buffering as the single explanation for triadic interactions, but emphasize the contextual variability in the expression of these triadic interactions.