ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that one of the best ways of understanding social cognition in nonhuman primates is through touch. It argues that if we would like to describe the evolutionary history of social cognition, touch is one of the ideal modes to operationalize social interaction across different kinds of primates. The chapter believes that touch as a mode of interaction should be included in the study of social cognition because touch allows primates to learn how to regulate their emotions, and this regulation allows infants to be calm enough to pay attention to the world around them, including their social partners. It hypothesizes that these measurements could be adapted to the study of these forms of social cognition across nonhuman primates. The prevalence of using visual modes in the study of social cognition is also present in the study of emotions in primates.
