Dominance,physiology, and self-aggression in monkeys

Several tests failed to detect any relationship between the amount of self-aggression (SA) and either spontaneous or contrived dominance rank of self-aggressive stumptailed macaques living in groups. SA and stereotyped movements were affected differently when the subjects were given drugs, suggesting a dissociation between these two behaviors. SA did not correlate with measured adrenocortical arousal, indicating that self-aggressive monkeys are not stressed as they are when receiving social aggression. Theories of social aggression, such as social learning theory, deal poorly with self-directed aggression.