Personal grooming

For other types of grooming, see Groom (disambiguation).

Personal grooming (also called titivating and preen-

Mutually grooming ponies at Turf Hill, New Forest, U.K.

1 In animals

Summer Morning (at Spadarvet), by Carl Larsson, 1908

Individual animals regularly clean themselves and put

their fur, feathers or other skin coverings in good order. This activity is known as personal grooming, a
form of hygiene. Extracting foreign objects such as
insects, leaves, dirt, twigs and parasites,[1] are all forms
of grooming. Among animals, birds spend considerable
time preening their feathers. This is done to remove
ectoparasites, keep them in good aerodynamic condition,
and waterproof them. To do that, they use the preen oil
secreted by the uropygial gland, the dust of down feathers,
or other means such as dust-bathing or anting. During oil
spills, animal conservationists that rescue penguins sometimes dress them in knitted sweaters to stop them from
preening and thereby ingesting the mineral oil which is
poisonous. Monkeys may also pick out nits from their fur
or scratch their rears to keep themselves clean. Felidae
cats are well known for their extensive grooming. One
reason advanced for such grooming is to remove all traces
of blood and other matter so as to not alert prey with
the scent. Cats groom so much that they often produce
hairballs from the fur they ingest.[2]

2 Grooming as a social activity

Main article: Social grooming
Preening male Sandpiper

Many social animals adapt preening and grooming being) is the art of cleaning, grooming, and maintaining haviors for other social purposes such as bonding and the
parts of the body. It is a species-typical behavior.
strengthening of social structures. Grooming plays a par1

ticularly important role in forming social bonds in many

primate species, such as chacma baboons and wedgecapped capuchins.

EXTERNAL LINKS

5 See also
Acral lick dermatitis
Comfort behaviour in animals

Mutual grooming in human relationships

Main article: Social grooming

Dust bathing
Sham dustbathing
Uropygial gland
Wound licking

In humankind, mutual grooming relates closely to social

grooming, which is dened as the process by which human beings fulll one of their basic instincts, such as socializing, cooperating and learning from each other.[3] In
research conducted by Holly Nelson (from the University
of New Hampshire) and Glenn Geher (State University
of New York at Platz), individuals who chose their romantic partner reported more mutual grooming than others who focused in other types of relationships. Hence,
this study hypothesized that mutual grooming related to
relationship satisfaction, trust and previous experience
of aection within the family. They claim that even
though humans do not groom each other with the same
fervor that other species do, they are groomers par excellence. Therefore, human mutual grooming plays an important role in pair bonding. In the same investigation, researchers found that individuals with more promiscuous
attitudes and those who scored high on the anxiety subscale on an adult attachment style measure tend to groom
their partners more frequently. These ndings were also
consistent with some of the functions of grooming: potential parental indicator, developing trust and courtship
or irtation.[4]

6 References
[1] Graystock, Peter; Hughes, William O. H. (2011). Disease resistance in a weaver ant, Polyrhachis dives, and the
role of antibiotic-producing glands. Behavioral Ecology
and Sociobiology. doi:10.1007/s00265-011-1242-y.
[2] Garvey, Michael S.; Hohenhaus, Ann E.; Houpt, Katherine A.; Pinckney, John E.; Randolph, Elizabeth; Wallace,
Melissa S. (2010). The Veterinarians Guide to Your Cats
Symptoms. Random House. ISBN 9780307492852.
[3] Casse, Pierre. (2008-10-14) Social Grooming A new
side to leadership? Dean, Berlin School of Creative Leadership. Retrieved on 2010-09-08
[4] Nelson, Holly and Geher, Glenn. (2007-09-15) Mutual
Grooming in Human Dyadic Relationships: An Ethological Perspective Springer Link. Retrieved on 2010-09-08

7 External links
Media related to Grooming at Wikimedia Commons

Gallery
A domesticated tortoiseshell cat grooming itself.
A domesticated cat grooming.
Black swan preening.
Blue Ducks preening their feathers.
Peregrine Falcon preening its feathers.
Play media
A House Sparrow cleans itself in moving water
while a Mallard preens in the background
Play media
A esh y uses its legs to clean and maintain itself

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Personal grooming Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_grooming?oldid=619502637 Contributors: Marj Tiefert, Edward,

Pcb21, Ronz, HangingCurve, Andycjp, Mormegil, Rich Farmbrough, FT2, Alansohn, Anthony Appleyard, Graham87, Ucucha, Avocado, Crazytales, Gerbil, Dysmorodrepanis, Szhaider, Theda, Alexandrov, SmackBot, EncycloPetey, Gilliam, Ohnoitsjamie, Radagast83,
Nakon, Richard001, Drc79, Ivysaur, The Subgenius, Lemmio, ShelfSkewed, Neelix, Penbat, Cydebot, Barticus88, Mojo Hand, The
prophet wizard of the crayon cake, Jj137, Noodle snacks, Dispenser, Tomcreed, Nikki311, VolkovBot, Joyful Sonar Wave, Fences and
windows, Econo321, McM.bot, Perry04061994, Perryperry, Fanra, Faith1101, Niceguyedc, Robert Skyhawk, Horror clown, ChrisHodgesUK, XLinkBot, Enigmocracy, Addbot, Jms916, Rehman, Jarble, Luckas-bot, Ptbotgourou, Menwebgl, Erik9bot, Raptor KGB, Tinton5,
Healthpop, Lotje, Brambleclawx, TjBot, ZroBot, Cibomatto99, ClueBot NG, Satellizer, Twillisjr, DrChrissy, Bombusp, Dsfaerfewaearera,
ChrisGualtieri, Doc Armitage, Gabriel.hassler, Reatlas, Alexjackson89, Primpmire Hisk, Monkbot and Anonymous: 53

8.2

Images

File:Caribou_from_Wagon_Trails.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Caribou_from_Wagon_Trails.

jpg License: CC-BY-SA-2.5 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Carl_Larsson_Summer_Morning_1908.jpg Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Carl_Larsson_
Summer_Morning_1908.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: t solsidan Original artist: Carl Larsson
File:Edit-clear.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg License: ? Contributors: The Tango! Desktop
Project. Original artist:
The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the le, specically: Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Issoria_lathonia.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Issoria_lathonia.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Kampflufer_Gefieder_putzend.jpg Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Kampfl%C3%A4ufer_
Gefieder_putzend.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: BS Thurner Hof
File:Mutually_grooming_ponies_new_forest.jpg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Mutually_
grooming_ponies_new_forest.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Jim Champion

8.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0