Can we recognize emotions amongst other species? Can they recognize ours?
If our emotional recognition skills expand to other species besides humans, that tells us a great deal about the universality and evolutionary basis of our expressions, including our basic emotions.
In this amazing video, Dr. Jan van Hooff visits an elderly chimpanzee, Mama, whom he had known many years earlier. Take a minute to watch the video and look for the moment where she recognizes the scientist’s face!
The moment of recognition is pretty hard to miss, with Mama’s face lighting up in what would be considered an obvious smile in humans. Even her vocalizations indicate pleased surprise and clear recognition. Then, her behavior changes from lethargic and apparently depressed to engaged and more active.
This seems like clear evidence that Mama is experiencing a similar process as humans do when we recognize other faces, and this would not be surprising as many emotional expressions are common across primate species. In fact, past research has found similarities between primate and human gestures.
As we previously blogged on, many gestures are common between chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. This includes triumphant postures but also shooing gestures. Many of these are deeply rooted in our evolutionary history as well.
That fact should probably not be surprising as chimpanzees also express emotions in similar ways, with remarkably similar laughs!
So, maybe your takeaway is that by learning effective facial and emotional recognition, you can recognize not just humans but chimpanzees as well!