Robert M Sapolsky
Biographic Data
| ID | 137449 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robert M Sapolsky |
| GIVEN NAMES | Robert M |
| FAMILY NAME | Sapolsky |
| SIGNATURE | SAPOLSKY R M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Institute of Primate Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7435-5838 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 137 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1982 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Life without free will
In this partial precis of my recent book ( Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, 2023), I argue against the existence of free will, based on the clarity with which we are nothing more than the sum of the densely intertwined biology, over which we had no control, and its interactions with the environment over which we also had no control. Despite this, the vast majority people, including philosophers and psychologists, believe that free…
Primate Tourism
Primate tourism is a growing phenomenon, with increasing pressure coming from several directions: the private sector, governments, and conservation agencies. At the same time, some primate sites are working to exclude or severely restrict tourism because of problems that have developed as a result. Indeed, tourism has proven costly to primates due to factors such as disease, stress, social disruption, vulnerability to poachers, and interference w…
Super Humanity
Support for religio‐political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza
Hormones seem to play important roles in the regulation of human aggression. Multiple studies have confirmed that testosterone (T) levels exhibit complex relationships with aggression, dominance, and/or risk‐taking behavior. Some evidence suggests that cortisol (CORT) interacts with T and may also be associated with aspects of mood and aggression. However, almost no research to date has investigated the possibility that these neuroendocrine facto…
Fertility and race perception predict voter preference for Barack Obama
Support for religio‐political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza
Politically aggressive militant groups usually rely on support from a larger community, although evidence suggests that only some members of that larger community support that aggression. A major subtype of political aggression is that associated with religious differences—or Religio‐Political Aggression (RPA). Little previous research has explored demographic or psychological factors that might distinguish supporters from non‐supporters of RPA. …
A Natural History of Peace
More discomfiting is the continuum that has been demonstrated in the realm of cognition. We now know, for example, that other species invent tools and use them with dexterity and local cultural variation. Other primates display semanticity (the use of symbols to refer to objects and actions) in their communication in ways that would impress any linguist. And experiments have shown other primates to possess a theory of mind, that is, the ability t…
Culture in Animals
Journal Article Culture in Animals: The Case of a Non-human Primate Culture of Low Aggression and High Affiliation Get access Robert M. Sapolsky Robert M. Sapolsky Stanford University and the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya Direct correspondence to Robert M. Sapolsky, Stanford University Gilbert Laboratory MC 5020, Stanford, CA 94305-5020. E-mail: [email protected]. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Aca…
Social Cultures among Nonhuman Primates
The study of nonhuman species often challenges our notions of what makes humans unique. These challenges include the growing recognition that other species possess rudiments of cultureregional variation in behavior that is not rooted in genetics or ecology and is transmitted beyond its originators. Such studies have hinted at the existence in nonhuman species of social culture, in which a particular style of sociality permeates an array of behavi…
The Influence of Social Hierarchy on Primate Health
Dominance hierarchies occur in numerous social species, and rank within them can greatly influence the quality of life of an animal. In this review, I consider how rank can also influence physiology and health. I first consider whether it is high- or low-ranking animals that are most stressed in a dominance hierarchy; this turns out to vary as a function of the social organization in different species and populations. I then review how the stress…
Social Status and Health in Humans and Other Animals
Dominance hierarchies exist in numerous social species, and rank in such hierarchies can dramatically influence the quality of an individual's life. Rank can dramatically influence also the health of an individual, particularly with respect to stress-related disease. This chapter reviews first the nature of stress, the stress-response and stress-related disease, as well as the varieties of hierarchical systems in animals. I then review the litera…
Are subordinates always stressed? a comparative analysis of rank differences in cortisol levels among primates
Effects of food availability on serum insulin and lipid concentrations in free‐ranging baboons
The relationship between food availability and metabolic physiology was studied in groups of free‐ranging baboons ( Papio spp.) living in the Amboseli National Park and the Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya. Three groups subsisted entirely on natural forage, while two other groups lived near tourist facilities and often consumed food wastes from these lodges. The refuse provided a very accessible food source with relatively high caloric densit…
Male orangutan subadulthood
Both in the wild and in captivity, a marked and enduring arrest of secondary sexual developmental occurs in some male orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus ) (Kingsley [ 1982 ] The Orang‐Utan: Its Biology and Conservation, The Hague: Junk; Utami [ 2000 ]). Researchers have hypothesized that chronic stress, perhaps related to aggression from mature males, causes endocrine changes altering growth and maturation rates in these males (Maple [1980] Orangutan Be…
How Do Glucocorticoids Influence Stress Responses? Integrating Permissive, Suppressive, Stimulatory, and Preparative Actions
Growth hormone and thyroid stimulating hormone concentrations in captive male orangutans
There are two morphs of reproductive male in orangutans. Both morphs span the age range from adolescent to adult, but "subadult" males are smaller in size and lack secondary sexual features. In this study, urine samples were collected over a 2 year period from 23 captive male orangutans in order to define the endocrinology of this apparent arrest of secondary sexual development. Three males were juveniles, 3 to 5 years of age; seven males showed …
Reproductive hormone profiles in captive male orangutans
For many years researchers have described some male orangutans as "subadult." These males are of adolescent to adult age and are reproductive, but have little to no secondary sexual trait development. Until now the only endocrine study of this arrest of secondary sexual trait development was performed by Kingsley (1982, 1988). She found that "subadult" or arrested males have lower testosterone levels than similar age developing adolescents or adu…
Darting terrestrial primates in the wild
While a goal of many field primatologists is to observe subjects in as undisturbed a setting as possible, it is often necessary to anesthetize animals for any of a variety of reasons. In this paper, we review techniques for anesthetizing wild primates, based on our experience with more than a thousand such procedures carried out on baboons in East Africa. We consider the following: 1) rationales for anesthetizing a wild primate; 2) systems for th…
Styles of male social behavior and their endocrine correlates among low‐ranking baboons
We have previously studied the relationship between social subordinance (by approach-avoidance criteria) and physiology among male olive baboons (Papio anubis) living freely in a national park in Africa. In stable hierarchies, subordinate individuals have elevated basal glucocorticoid concentrations and a blunted glucocorticoid response to stress, as well as a prompt suppression of testosterone concentrations during stress. These facets have been…
Styles of male social behavior and their endocrine correlates among low-ranking baboons
We have previously studied the relationship between social subordinance (by approach-avoidance criteria) and physiology among male olive baboons (Papio anubis) living freely in a national park in Africa. In stable hierarchies, subordinate individuals have elevated basal glucocorticoid concentrations and a blunted glucocorticoid response to stress, as well as a prompt suppression of testosterone concentrations during stress. These facets have been…
Why Stress Is Bad for Your Brain
Several recent studies of humans correlate stress with atrophy of the hippocampus, an area of the brain required for memory and cognition. In his Perspective, Sapolsky argues that the underlying causal agent may be glucocorticoids secreted in abnormally high amounts under stressful conditions.
Why should an aged male baboon ever transfer troops?
Why should an aged male baboon ever transfer troops?
Dispersals by subadult or adult male baboons are common. In contrast, the occasional transfer of aged baboons is puzzling, given the physical dangers of transfer and the cognitive demands of mastering the ecological and social rules of a new troop. The present data suggest a possible explanation for such transfers in a study of two troops of olive baboons (Papio anubis) in Kenya. Aged males who remained in the troop in which they had been dominan…
Stress and cognitive function
Rank‐related differences in cardiovascular function among wild baboons
In a population of wild baboons living in East Africa, we have observed endocrine differences among individuals as a function of dominance rank. Among these differences, we previously observed indirect evidence for dominant males being more. responsive to sympathetic catecholamines than were subordinate males. The present report tests this explicitly. Male baboons of known rank were anesthetized, and sympathetic and parasympathetic activity was p…
Social Status and Health in Humans and Other Animals
Dominance hierarchies exist in numerous social species, and rank in such hierarchies can dramatically influence the quality of an individual's life. Rank can dramatically influence also the health of an individual, particularly with respect to stress-related disease. This chapter reviews first the nature of stress, the stress-response and stress-related disease, as well as the varieties of hierarchical systems in animals. I then review the litera…
Male orangutan subadulthood
Both in the wild and in captivity, a marked and enduring arrest of secondary sexual developmental occurs in some male orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus ) (Kingsley [ 1982 ] The Orang‐Utan: Its Biology and Conservation, The Hague: Junk; Utami [ 2000 ]). Researchers have hypothesized that chronic stress, perhaps related to aggression from mature males, causes endocrine changes altering growth and maturation rates in these males (Maple [1980] Orangutan Be…
Social Cultures among Nonhuman Primates
The study of nonhuman species often challenges our notions of what makes humans unique. These challenges include the growing recognition that other species possess rudiments of cultureregional variation in behavior that is not rooted in genetics or ecology and is transmitted beyond its originators. Such studies have hinted at the existence in nonhuman species of social culture, in which a particular style of sociality permeates an array of behavi…
Support for religio‐political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza
Politically aggressive militant groups usually rely on support from a larger community, although evidence suggests that only some members of that larger community support that aggression. A major subtype of political aggression is that associated with religious differences—or Religio‐Political Aggression (RPA). Little previous research has explored demographic or psychological factors that might distinguish supporters from non‐supporters of RPA. …
Support for religio‐political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza
Hormones seem to play important roles in the regulation of human aggression. Multiple studies have confirmed that testosterone (T) levels exhibit complex relationships with aggression, dominance, and/or risk‐taking behavior. Some evidence suggests that cortisol (CORT) interacts with T and may also be associated with aspects of mood and aggression. However, almost no research to date has investigated the possibility that these neuroendocrine facto…
A Natural History of Peace
More discomfiting is the continuum that has been demonstrated in the realm of cognition. We now know, for example, that other species invent tools and use them with dexterity and local cultural variation. Other primates display semanticity (the use of symbols to refer to objects and actions) in their communication in ways that would impress any linguist. And experiments have shown other primates to possess a theory of mind, that is, the ability t…
Culture in Animals
Journal Article Culture in Animals: The Case of a Non-human Primate Culture of Low Aggression and High Affiliation Get access Robert M. Sapolsky Robert M. Sapolsky Stanford University and the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya Direct correspondence to Robert M. Sapolsky, Stanford University Gilbert Laboratory MC 5020, Stanford, CA 94305-5020. E-mail: [email protected]. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Aca…
The endocrine stress-response and social status in the wild baboon
Endocrine aspects of social instability in the olive baboon ( Papio anubis )
The relationships among social status and the cortisol and testosterone stress‐response were studied in the non‐natal male members of a troop of olive baboons ( Papio anubis ) before and during a period of social instability. The unstable period was characterized by dominance interactions that were more frequent, more inconsistent, and produced less linear hierarchies than during the stable period. These changes occurred predominantly among the h…
Endocrine and behavioral correlates of drought in wild olive baboons ( Papio anubis )
As part of a long‐term study in behavioral endocrinology, wild olive baboons ( Papio anubis ) living in the Serengeti ecosystem of East Africa have been under study since 1978. The present report documents behavioral and endocrine changes associated with the severe drought of 1984. During this time, the annual rainy season failed and grassland biomass was severely reduced in the Serengeti. Baboons were able to maintain body weight but spent signi…
Styles of dominance and their endocrine correlates among wild olive baboons ( Papio anubis )
We have studied the relationship between dominance rank and physiology among male olive baboons ( Papio anubis ) living freely in a national park in Africa. In stable hierarchies, dominant males consistently have lower basal concentrations than do subordinates of the adrenal glucocorticoid cortisol. Because of the known catabolic actions of glucocorticoids, dominant males may be less at risk for some of the pathogenic consequences of glucocortico…
Styles of male social behavior and their endocrine correlates among high‐ranking wild baboons
We have previously studied the relationship between dominance rank and physiology among male olive baboons ( Papio anubis ) living freely in a national park in Africa. In stable hierarchies, such males have distinctive secretory profiles of glucocorticoids and of testosterone. We find that these endocrine features are not, in fact, purely markers of social dominance; instead, they are found only among dominant males with particular stylistic trai…
Endocrine and developmental correlates of unilateral cryptorchidism in a wild baboon
A wild, group‐living 8.5‐year‐old adult baboon was found to have only a single palpable testicle, the only case of cryptorchidism found among more than 200 males that we have examined. This young adult had an unusually small body size for his age, one that was comparable to that of immature males two years younger, and during maturation his body mass was increasingly small for his age. As a young adult, he also had very low testosterone concentra…
Body size and fatness of free‐living baboons reflect food availability and activity levels
We used morphometric techniques and isotope‐labeled water to investigate the influence of abundant, accessible food and resultant low activity levels on body size and fatness in free‐living adolescent and adult baboons as compared to animals in the same population that experienced more typical, wild‐feeding conditions. Females that had access to abundant food from a nearby garbage dump averaged 16.7 kg body mass, 50% more than their wild‐feeding …
Rank‐related differences in cardiovascular function among wild baboons
In a population of wild baboons living in East Africa, we have observed endocrine differences among individuals as a function of dominance rank. Among these differences, we previously observed indirect evidence for dominant males being more. responsive to sympathetic catecholamines than were subordinate males. The present report tests this explicitly. Male baboons of known rank were anesthetized, and sympathetic and parasympathetic activity was p…
Stress and cognitive function
Why Stress Is Bad for Your Brain
Several recent studies of humans correlate stress with atrophy of the hippocampus, an area of the brain required for memory and cognition. In his Perspective, Sapolsky argues that the underlying causal agent may be glucocorticoids secreted in abnormally high amounts under stressful conditions.
Why should an aged male baboon ever transfer troops?
Why should an aged male baboon ever transfer troops?
Dispersals by subadult or adult male baboons are common. In contrast, the occasional transfer of aged baboons is puzzling, given the physical dangers of transfer and the cognitive demands of mastering the ecological and social rules of a new troop. The present data suggest a possible explanation for such transfers in a study of two troops of olive baboons (Papio anubis) in Kenya. Aged males who remained in the troop in which they had been dominan…
Styles of male social behavior and their endocrine correlates among low‐ranking baboons
We have previously studied the relationship between social subordinance (by approach-avoidance criteria) and physiology among male olive baboons (Papio anubis) living freely in a national park in Africa. In stable hierarchies, subordinate individuals have elevated basal glucocorticoid concentrations and a blunted glucocorticoid response to stress, as well as a prompt suppression of testosterone concentrations during stress. These facets have been…
Styles of male social behavior and their endocrine correlates among low-ranking baboons
We have previously studied the relationship between social subordinance (by approach-avoidance criteria) and physiology among male olive baboons (Papio anubis) living freely in a national park in Africa. In stable hierarchies, subordinate individuals have elevated basal glucocorticoid concentrations and a blunted glucocorticoid response to stress, as well as a prompt suppression of testosterone concentrations during stress. These facets have been…
Darting terrestrial primates in the wild
While a goal of many field primatologists is to observe subjects in as undisturbed a setting as possible, it is often necessary to anesthetize animals for any of a variety of reasons. In this paper, we review techniques for anesthetizing wild primates, based on our experience with more than a thousand such procedures carried out on baboons in East Africa. We consider the following: 1) rationales for anesthetizing a wild primate; 2) systems for th…
Reproductive hormone profiles in captive male orangutans
For many years researchers have described some male orangutans as "subadult." These males are of adolescent to adult age and are reproductive, but have little to no secondary sexual trait development. Until now the only endocrine study of this arrest of secondary sexual trait development was performed by Kingsley (1982, 1988). She found that "subadult" or arrested males have lower testosterone levels than similar age developing adolescents or adu…
How Do Glucocorticoids Influence Stress Responses? Integrating Permissive, Suppressive, Stimulatory, and Preparative Actions
Growth hormone and thyroid stimulating hormone concentrations in captive male orangutans
There are two morphs of reproductive male in orangutans. Both morphs span the age range from adolescent to adult, but "subadult" males are smaller in size and lack secondary sexual features. In this study, urine samples were collected over a 2 year period from 23 captive male orangutans in order to define the endocrinology of this apparent arrest of secondary sexual development. Three males were juveniles, 3 to 5 years of age; seven males showed …
Effects of food availability on serum insulin and lipid concentrations in free‐ranging baboons
The relationship between food availability and metabolic physiology was studied in groups of free‐ranging baboons ( Papio spp.) living in the Amboseli National Park and the Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya. Three groups subsisted entirely on natural forage, while two other groups lived near tourist facilities and often consumed food wastes from these lodges. The refuse provided a very accessible food source with relatively high caloric densit…
Male orangutan subadulthood
Both in the wild and in captivity, a marked and enduring arrest of secondary sexual developmental occurs in some male orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus ) (Kingsley [ 1982 ] The Orang‐Utan: Its Biology and Conservation, The Hague: Junk; Utami [ 2000 ]). Researchers have hypothesized that chronic stress, perhaps related to aggression from mature males, causes endocrine changes altering growth and maturation rates in these males (Maple [1980] Orangutan Be…
Are subordinates always stressed? a comparative analysis of rank differences in cortisol levels among primates
Social Status and Health in Humans and Other Animals
Dominance hierarchies exist in numerous social species, and rank in such hierarchies can dramatically influence the quality of an individual's life. Rank can dramatically influence also the health of an individual, particularly with respect to stress-related disease. This chapter reviews first the nature of stress, the stress-response and stress-related disease, as well as the varieties of hierarchical systems in animals. I then review the litera…
The Influence of Social Hierarchy on Primate Health
Dominance hierarchies occur in numerous social species, and rank within them can greatly influence the quality of life of an animal. In this review, I consider how rank can also influence physiology and health. I first consider whether it is high- or low-ranking animals that are most stressed in a dominance hierarchy; this turns out to vary as a function of the social organization in different species and populations. I then review how the stress…
A Natural History of Peace
More discomfiting is the continuum that has been demonstrated in the realm of cognition. We now know, for example, that other species invent tools and use them with dexterity and local cultural variation. Other primates display semanticity (the use of symbols to refer to objects and actions) in their communication in ways that would impress any linguist. And experiments have shown other primates to possess a theory of mind, that is, the ability t…
Culture in Animals
Journal Article Culture in Animals: The Case of a Non-human Primate Culture of Low Aggression and High Affiliation Get access Robert M. Sapolsky Robert M. Sapolsky Stanford University and the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya Direct correspondence to Robert M. Sapolsky, Stanford University Gilbert Laboratory MC 5020, Stanford, CA 94305-5020. E-mail: [email protected]. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Aca…
Biology (23 works) · Psychology (20 works) · Medicine (18 works) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (16 works) · Hormone (11 works) · Aggression (10 works) · Developmental psychology (10 works) · Endocrine system (9 works) · Animal Behavior and Reproduction (8 works) · Demography (8 works)