Theory Of Mind: Do Animals Think Like We Do?

Do animals have a conscious like we do? Do animals experience pain like we do? Are they aware of how they’re feeling, like we are? All these questions arise because, for a long time, there has been a debate over whether or not animals can think like we humans do and whether or not they have a conscious. Some arguments have been based on the fact that as humans, we have larger brains, and therefor are capable of more cognitive processing and greater understanding (Bickerton, 2000). Others have relied on the simple observation that humans and animals live completely different lives (Bickerton, 2000). Based on the research that will be presented, it is clear that even though animals and humans live distinctly different lives, their minds work in very similar ways to ours and there is not much difference between the two. The theories that will be discussed are meta-cognition, future-oriented cognition, theory of mind and the ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli as well as …show more content…
However, studies have shown that certain animals, like apes, have the capacity for theory of mind. Theory of mind is when an individual can recognize that their thoughts are their own, and what they know, others might not know (Premack & Woodruff, 1978). In the study by Premack and Woodruff, chimpanzees were presented with different situations in which a human was struggling with different things. For example, in one situation, the human was trying to get a banana that was out of their reach, in another example; the human was shivering because they were cold. The chimpanzees were given a bunch of pictures with possible solutions on them. The chimpanzees chose the correct photo more often than not, which demonstrated that they are able to understand the human’s purpose, the problem and the solution to that problem (Premack & Woodruff,