> [!quote] [Monkeys play to reduce group tension](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220317094737.htm) via [[Anglia Ruskin University]] & [[ScienceDaily]] on 2022-03-17 > New research has discovered that monkeys use play to avoid conflict and reduce group tension. The study found that adult howler monkeys spend more time playing with other adults, rather than juveniles. And rather than being associated with fun or education, play increases when howler monkeys are foraging for fruit, which is a highly prized resource that generates competition. > > Howler monkeys do not have a fixed social hierarchy within their groups to navigate competition and conflict, and they do not engage in collective grooming, which is used by some primates for group cohesiveness and tension reduction. Instead, the study authors believe play has a key role in helping howler monkeys regulate relationships within their social group and avoid conflict. > > One theory for the positive effect of fruit consumption on play is that a fruit-based diet simply provides the howler monkeys with more energy compared to their typical diet of leaves. > > "However, if this was the case, we should have observed adults engaging in more play with all members of the group during fruit foraging, rather than just with other adults. Because juveniles do not pose a threat or provide competition at fruit trees, we believe that play amongst adults is a mechanism for solving conflicts within the group, in a similar way that grooming is used by some other primate species