Primate Psychology Quotes

The need for novelty is the characteristic of an alienated gorilla.

Chimpanzees have very strong preferences and aversions that are completely personality-linked. The people who are unsuccessful in working with chimpanzees are those who take this personally.

I'm a barrel of monkeys, kid, though mostly I figure monkeys stuck in a barrel are just going to be pissed off.

Monkeys are superior to men in this: when a monkey looks into a mirror, he sees a monkey.

It is a common trait of primates to become submissive and even worshipful toward one who has the power to kill them.

One ape's hallucination is another ape's religious experience - it just depends on which one’s god module is overactive at the time.

When you're dealing with monkeys, you've got to expect some wrenches.

If you're a gazelle, you don't have a very complex emotional life, despite being a social species. But primates are just smart enough that they can think their bodies into working differently. It's not until you get to primates that you get things that look like depression.

If ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, then children are somewhat closer to our roots as primates in the arboreal forest. Humans appear to be the only primates that I know of that are afraid of heights. All other primates, when they're scared, they run up a tree, where they feel safe.