Infant-caregiver interactions in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): Consequences of rejections and rub-offs of infants by caregivers

Interactions between common marmoset infants (Callithrix jacchus) and their fathers, mothers, older siblings and twins were examined in captive family groups. The aim was to record infants' behaviour after being rejected in their attempts to get on to caregivers and after being rubbed off by caregivers who had been carrying them. The results showed that infants' behaviour differed according to which caregiver was involved and that behaviours following rejections differed from those following rub-offs. These differences in infants' behaviour had been predicted from previous work which showed that caregivers have a limit to the amount of time they are prepared to devote to infants and that different caregivers give different amounts of care to infants of specific ages.