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The reaction to removal of the mother was studied in 4 group-living pigtail monkey infants. All showed distress, with 3 progressing to a state of deep depression similar to the anaclitic depression of human infants following separation, as described by Spitz. The only infant not showing deep depression was the offspring of the dominant female. The stages of reaction are seen as successive efforts at adaptation based on available response systems, evolved for their selective advantage or developed ontogenetically, especially through dominance-hierarchical regulatory influences. In this regard the reactions have apparent survival value, in part through their communicative significance. Monkey infants have a greater chance of survival without a mother figure than humans because of their greater locomotor ability, which appeared to initiate recovery from the depressed state. The data support Engel's theory of two primitive biological response systems for handling distress, each with a mediating neural organization.
KAUFMAN et al. (Wed,) studied this question.