14 DAY TRIAL // Cognitive biologists now say that chimps are even more similar to humans than previously believed. Long story short, it appears that these primates choose their friends based on individual personalities.
More precisely, shy chimps more often than not hang out with others whose social behavior resembles their own, whereas the more outgoing ones enjoy spending time with others that don't mind being in the spotlight either.
“We found that, especially among unrelated friends, the most sociable and bold individuals preferred the company of other highly sociable and bold individuals, whereas shy and less sociable ones spent time with other similarly aloof and shy chimpanzees,” researcher Jorg Massen with the University of Vienna says, as cited by Science Daily.
The researchers theorize that, by choosing friends whose personality resembles their own, chimps make sure that, should they ever need help with something, they will have someone to rely on.
This is because collaborations always work best between similar individuals.