Using touch screen computers has helped a group of monkeys relax, a new study has found.

Interacting with the touchscreen machines not only interests and challenges the animals, but keeps dominant members of the group busy, which mirrors life in the wild and relieves social tension.

Researchers studied a social group of Sulawesi crested macaques at Marwell Wildlife, Hampshire, to come up with their findings.

The scientists, from the University of Portsmouth, taught the rare monkeys to operate computer touchscreens so they could conduct studies to understand the animals’ cognition and communication.

The researchers found that providing cognitive challenges for the macaques, using touchscreen computers, has improved the group’s cohesion and reduced tensions while increasing friendly behaviour.

Just like humans and many other primates, macaques use complex social interactions.

Sulawesi crested macaques, native to Indonesia, employ sophisticated and subtle communication techniques, relying on many different facial expressions, body positioning and vocalisations to make themselves understood, according to the study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The macaques live in their social group and can voluntarily enter a specialised research area, separate from the researcher.

The animals are free to end the sessions whenever they like and return to their daily activities.