Consciousness in Animals

Psy391D - Class 14

(This page last updated 25 November, 2004.)

Supplemental Reading A number of authors have tried to argue that animals have mental states similar to ours based on observations of their behavior. One example, which focuses on emotional mental states, is When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Masson and McCarthy.

We have no way of knowing about animals' subjective experience.

What would it take to demonstrate that an animal is conscious?

However, we can ask more specific questions about behaviors associated with consciousness.

 

Mirror Test

Designed to test an animal's sense of self.

Procedure

Animal anesthetized and mark placed on face.
Do they touch the mark?

Which species pass the mirror test?

Chimps - yes
Bonobos - yes
Orangutans - yes
Gorillas - not usually
Monkeys - not clear
Cats - no
Dogs - no

 

Theory of Mind

Understanding other people's behavior by predicting their thoughts, desires, intentions, etc.

Dennett calls it "taking the intentional stance"

Does not arise in children until ages 3-5

Testing Theory of Mind in Animals

• Deception
  • Evidence mainly anecdotal
  • Baboons and monkeys
• Knowing what others can see or know
  • Experiments by Povinelli and colleagues
  • Two experimenters, each holding food
  • Chimp cannot reach either experimenter
  • When both experimenters are facing chimp, it will beg for food from either one.
  • One experimenter has bucket over head so that it cannot see monkey.
    • Monkey still begs from both.
  • One experimenter has back turned.
    • Monkey less likely to beg from the one with back turned.
  • Both experimenters have back turned, but one looks back over shoulder.
    • Begged from both.
  • Chimps are sensitive to whether back is turned or not.
  • Not sensitive to where experimenters are looking, or if they can see monkey.
• Imitation
  • Tool use in monkeys
    • Using rocks to open nuts
    • Washing sweet potatoes
  • Tool use in chimps
    • Using sticks to fish termites out of termite hill
  • Imitation in humpback whales
    • Male humpback whales produce structured vocal sequences cycling over 5-25 minute periods.
    • Only produced at winter breeding grounds; not in summer.
    • All males in a breeding population sing the same song.
    • Song changes over the years, and even changes within a single breeding season.
    • Does not change over the summer.
    • Songs in Hawaii and Mexico are virtually the same and change together over time.
      • Sound travelling long distances through the ocean?

       

Language

Chimps, gorillas, and orangutans can be taught to communicate with symbols.

In some circumstances, they can string symbols together.

However, they don't seem to be able to use complex rules to combine symbols in the ways that we do.

 

Next class: Consciousness in Machines

Psych 391D: Consciousness Kyle Cave Psychology Dept. U. Mass.