Why people (and chimps) throw temper tantrums | Frans de Waal

Primatologist Frans de Waal explains the primal instinct that unites humans and chimpanzees. - Humans throw temper tantrums when they feel frustrated, lose power, or sense a threat to their status or security. - Chimpanzees exhibit the same behavior; alpha male chimps who lose their status throw tantrums to elicit sympathy from their group, hoping to have their power restored. - But that tactic almost never works, notes primatologist Frans de Waal. An important lesson for humans from chimps. Frans de Waal is a Dutch/American biologist and primatologist. He teaches at Emory University and directs the Living Links Center for the Study of Ape and Human Evolution, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is known for his popular books, such as Chimpanzee Politics (1982), Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape (1997) and The Age of Empathy (2009). He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences. His latest book is Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves (https://goo.gl/6Me8HG) Read more at BigThink.com: https://ift.tt/2Ww5iF2 Follow Big Think here: YouTube: http://goo.gl/CPTsV5 Facebook: https://ift.tt/1qJMX5g Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigthink