Animal Communication Essay example

Animal Intelligence Intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge. Psychologists have exploited this concept in many ways to try and determine whether non-human animals are capable of intelligence. From social learning it is logical to assume that, since non-human animals are able to both acquire and use new behaviours, they must be intelligent in some way. Heyes stated that there are 6 types of behaviour which suggest intelligence. These are imitation, self-recognition, social relationship formation, role-taking, deception and perspective taking.

Primate intelligence correlates to primate cognition which is the study of the intellectual and behavioral skills of primates (Low). In the book Human Evolution and Culture, chapter five "Human Evolution Biological and Culture" states that primates share a lot of common features with mammals but what makes them uniquely different than many other mammals is that primates have a wide range of physical and social traits (86). The social relationships of primates are unique because just like humans, they relationship begin with the mother and other adults that the younger dependable primates. "The dependency of infant primates offers an evolutionary benefit that allows infant primates more time to examine and master the intricate behaviors necessary to survival while enjoying the care and protection of mature adults."(87) Primates have the privilege of having a large brain the size similar to body size to learn the culture and the way of life they live. Larger brains give primates the advantage to obtain an enormous amount of learning and integrate data. Primates have a special gift in areas of their brain that's dedicated to speech and language. (94) Primates have the special ability to communicate with each other as well as with humans and are the "only habitual toolmaking animal" (96). Although primates are more cognitively advanced than many other animals/mammals, researchers and critics still debate on how to define, compare and study intelligence and the growth of

article“ When Animals Communicate, They Are Not Using “Language” “, it says “...animals communicate with each other using...sounds, signals, even smells and vibrations...these communication methods are not the same as language. They lack one or more of the many attributes that make up the human language, such as displacement, discreteness, and productivity”. These communication methods are useful to the animals, but aren’t the same as language. They lack the 3 main traits of language which are, as stated in the evidence, displacement, discreteness, and productivity. Animals also lack something in their brain that enables them to learn real language. In paragraph 3, it states “ Many linguists, zoologists, and scientists say...we have something in our brains that enables us to use language in a way that animals never can”. Since animals don’t have this ‘thing’ in their

Humans are a unique species because they have possess the ability to reason. Other animal species only have instinct, thus making them less smart. In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, it tells of a hunter named Rainsford who got stranded on Ship-Trap Island. Zaroff hunted Rainsford on the island, but in the end Rainsford killed Zaroff . In “The Most Dangerous Game”, the author uses imagery, setting, and characterization to suggest that instinct is better than reasoning.

Most primates communicate through a lot of ways, one of them being vocalization. Vocalization in primates have a range of functions, but some vary in contexts. For example, vocalization between one primate and another primate can differ greatly from communication between one group and another group. Of all primates, the only species to have developed speech are humans. Another form of communication is the use of symbols and hand gestures. Although apes use symbols, this provides insight on their cognitive abilities. In particular, there have been various recent studies on nonhuman primates and how they show a high level of complexity in linguistics, which is similar to humans. We study primate communication and their behavior to get a better

The baby monkey is next to “another group member” who food he desires to have. The baby cannot take it himself so he screams as if he is being attacked, in which his mother comes to his rescue by chasing the group member away and from gaining access to the food. By the animal screaming in such a way that his mother will help shows how animals communicate. The monkey knew just how to scream to set off danger “danger alarm to alert his mother. He screamed to get his mother to do the necessary things to obtain his wishes. This shows the level of communicated nonhuman mammal has in order to

The ape first acquires language through comprehension and then through expression. This is the same course taken for a child. The acquisition of language structures by apes suggests that they are competent for reasoning. They are capable of experiencing among others, pain, happiness, and sorrow thus, they can experience various dimensions of being, that is, awareness.

Language is perhaps the most concrete way of differentiating between humans and animals. Broca's area-- the center of the brain dedicated to processing speech and language in humans-- is larger in our species than in any other animal. Studies in childhood development have found that young children are able to assimilate language at an alarming rate when compared with other species. Young children start learning how to make vowel sounds and respond to their parents at five months of age and are able to produce basic words, as well as understand the concepts they represent, at around a year of age. We learn to speak before we learn to walk or eat on our own; clearly, language is an integral part of the human experience.

Do animals feel joy, love, fear, anguish or despair? What ere emotions, and perhaps more importantly, how do scientists prove animals are capable of emotion? Sea lion mothers have often been seen wailing painfully and squealing eerily as they watch their babies being eaten by killer whales. Buffaloes have also been observed sliding playfully across ice, excitedly screaming “Gwaaa.” Emotions are defined broadly as psychological phenomena that help in behavioral management and control. This is a challenging question to researchers who are trying to determine the answer to this question. Through current research by close observation combined with neurobiological research, evidence that animals exhibit fear, joy

Like human beings, animals also communicate among themselves through gestures and body movements. Monkeys always carry their

The chapter states that if animals are conscious, their conscious level probably varies from the simplest feelings to thinking about the common problems they can face, and ways to avoid it.

For example, imitation and teaching explain that chimpanzee’s may watch their mother doing actions academically (problem-solving) she never gives her young enough feedback or just a simple look to reinforce his observation. He concludes by explaining that humans have a preexisting capacity that allows them to represent what they imagine by combining human elements (language) while, animals clearly do not.

Why is it that we as a society condemn the actions of a man against a man but very rarely a man against an animal? I think this question must be understood if we are ever to change the rights animals have. As of yet I don't believe animals have any actual rights. Rather humans have rights that involve animals. If we are to truly allow animals to have rights the same or similar to humans then we must first define what it is that makes us feel as if they are entitled to rights.

The claim, humans are the only animal that can acquire language has been the subject of much debate as scientists have investigated language use by non-human species. Researchers have taught apes, monkeys, parrots and wild children with various systems of human-like communication. Thus, one might ask, what is human language? According to Ulla Hedeager, A universally accepted definition of language or the criteria for its use does not exist. This is one of the reasons for the disagreement among scientists about whether non-human species can use a language. In nature, researchers find numerous types of communication systems, several of which appear to be unique to their possessors, and one of them is the language of the human species. Basically, the purpose of communication is the preservation, growth, and development of the species (Smith and Miller 1968:265). The ability to exchange information is shared by all communication systems, and a number of non-human systems share some features of human language. The fundamental difference between human and non-human communication is that animals are believed to react instinctively, in a stereotyped and predictable way. Generally, human behavior is under the voluntary control,

Throughout the years there have been different ways that humans communicate with each other whether it be from talking, body language, or sign language. But how does this communication affect us as human beings? There are many different types of communication such as Interpersonal Communications, Intrapersonal Communications, and Cross-Cultural Communications. Finding out how people communicate with each other is a key factor in our lives and we need to be able to understand how we can communicate better with ourselves and each other especially when it comes to communicating with people with cultures unlike ours.