Animal cognition is a hot topic in the scientific community today. It has many implications for how we treat animals in daily life and for what purposes we use them. Scientists have been trying to figure out the extent to which humans and animals are different, as well as similar in their cognitive abilities. However, a new book by Thomas Suddendorf revealed that it may just be the fact that humans can imagine things that are not even possible in our own world that separates us from our primate counterparts. This skill is called nested scenario building. From the time we are little, humans spend an extensive amount of time playing pretend and having imaginary adventures with other friends who can do the same. As we get older, our abilities are able to grow and expand to imagine our futures, create plans, solve complex problems, and connect with others on a deep cognitive level. These abilities provide the basis to understand others and therefore pledge cooperation from others in our social circles. We can learn from others, understand what they are feeling, and express how we are feeling to them. The ability to cooperate and learn from others has also been found in primates, however once humans pass the age of 2 so do our mental abilities. The ability to predict the future and different outcomes in a situation seems to be a solely human characteristic and cognitive skill. Our drive to do nested scenario building and connect with other scenario-building minds may be the key to what separates humans from animals and in the end, is what has driven our evolution from past ancestors.
Maldonado, J. (2013). The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals. Psych Central. Retrieved on March 4, 2014, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-gap-the-science-of-what-separates-us-from-other-animals/00018372
Nice picture of the orangutan mom and baby. I have a question – you say that the ability to predict the future and different outcomes is a human trait, but what about other studies that have shown that animals can make some predictions about their future (for example, in relation to foraging opportunities)? I hope you’ll be able to answer this in the upcoming weeks. For future – it would be more appropriate to look at what Suddendorf included in the book (some of which you can see in Google books), rather than using a book review someone else has written. This is an interesting topic and I look forward to reading more about it in future!
ReplyDeleteYes I have read some of the articles about monkeys predicting certain outcomes but I believe their ability to predict the future is much more limited than ours. At some level, I believe other animals can also predict certain outcomes especially when it comes to gathering or hunting food. For instance carnivores must somehow predict which prey to go after and which will have the most likely outcome of being captured if there is no outward evidence of an injury or sickness. I do wish to find a more specific article regarding this topic that I will be able to present in the nearby future and thank you for your very helpful comments! :)
DeleteI would never have thought that imagination could be so fundamental in humans. It's an eye opener for sure, great post.
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