Bonobos Say No to Unfair Trades

Bonobos say no to unfair trades

Research conducted by: Kia Radovanović

Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, April 16, 2025 

• Some experts use the phrase inequity aversion for patterns in animals that refuse to cooperate when they get a raw deal. Human studies have noted how people often protest if someone else is given better benefits for the same effort.

• Bonobos share close ties with humans on the evolutionary tree. Their social lives revolve around interactions where resources and tasks are commonly exchanged.

Bonobos, chimps, and unfair rewards

• When chimpanzees received lesser rewards, they reacted more strongly if the distributor was a human instead of a machine. That suggests they may be expressing frustration with the person & the trade.

• Bonobos didn’t follow that same pattern. Their refusals were strongest when a machine was involved and their partner still got something better.

• This detail sets them apart and raises the possibility that bonobos might have developed a clearer internal barometer for fairness

• Bonobo evidence suggests some apes may notice these imbalances too