Affiliative Interactions

Affiliative interactions in mice are behaviors and postures performed to gain more information about their housing environment and companions. As social behaviors, affiliative interactions function to develop and strengthen social bonds. Allo-grooming is an intimate way to explore the bodies of cagemates, as well as strengthen social bonds and maintain hygiene through the grooming of one another. Group sleeping is an inactive social interaction that is both psychologically and physiologically beneficial for the purposes of bonding, security, and warmth.

Affiliative interactions are a top-level classification of individual goal-directed behaviors:

1. Group Sleeping
2. Allo-grooming

General Activity

Affiliative behaviors are social interactions that function to reinforce social bonds with a group or which are of mutual benefit to all animals involved in the interaction.