factors Associated with Exploration in Marmosets: Age, Gender and Hand Preference

Age, hand preference and gender are shown to be associated with exploration behaviour performed by Callithrix jaccfius, depending on the context in which the marmosets are tested. When each marmoset was tested alone in a novel environment, hand preference had a significant effect on exploration: right-handed marmosets explored more actively than left-handed ones. This difference is probably related to hemispheric specialisation for processing novel stimuli and controlling emotional responses. Age and gender were found to have no significant effect on exploration in this context. When the marmosets were tested in the social groups and by placing novel objects in their home cages, both hand preference and age influenced approach and interaction with the stimuli, but again gender had no significant effect. Solving a novel problem in the home cage was influenced only by age, or related social dominance, and not by gender or hand preference. The implications of these results to behaviour of wild marmosets and other species are discussed.