Primate Theory Of Mind Essay

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The theory of mind is the ability to use one’s brain to have the capacity to assign mental states to others in order to grasp their perceptions and ideas. It is the action and cognitive ability that are largely based on brain size and cognition. Research has suggested (with bias) that the theory of mind can only be found in humans because humans have relatively large brain sizes and have complex cognitive abilities. Other research has also suggested that the theory of mind only relates to social emotional intelligence, which can be found in humans but also in other primates. Humans are not the only primates that have a theory of mind; other non-human primates are able to use their cognitive abilities and social skills to fulfill tasks and survive. …show more content…

Primates have developed the ability to actually create different cultural groups, each of which operates with its own unique set of artifacts, symbols, social practices, and institutions. While primates in general have evolved advanced social-cognitive skills for competing and collaborating with related and with their own species, humans have also developed these abilities (Hermann et al., 2007). This illustrates cognition as a big factor in the theory of mind because, without cognition, non-human primates would not have been able to develop these different groups, vocalizations, and symbols to communicate with fellow and other species. Other primate species may share certain social or cultural behaviors with one another, but their species-typical cognition does not rely on engaging in cultural interactions in the same way that it does in humans (Hermann et al., 2007). Although social interactions are not a large part of cognitive evolution for primates, they are still able to understand the behaviors of other species. Humans have cognitive abilities that heavily rely on social interaction, which evolved separately from those of other …show more content…

Even when they disagree with one's own, it is important to present opposing worldviews in order to comprehend false beliefs. Apes who had experienced the barrier as opaque treated the actor as not having seen the object’s movement and removal and as having a false belief that the object remained in its original location: They showed a bias in looking toward the location the object originally inhabited, consistent with their anticipation that the actor would search for the object there (Hall et al., 2019). The primates were able to predict the actor's behavior and movements. They demonstrate that they have similar cognitive capacities to humans despite having minimal opportunity to study human behavior. However, the primates' perception that the barrier was transparent is largely responsible for this notion. Apes who had experienced the barrier as translucent showed no such bias, which is consistent with attributing to the actor a true belief that the object had been removed and with having no expectation that the actor would search in any particular place (Hall et al., 2019). The primate was unable to predict where the actor would seek the object since it perceived the barrier as translucent. Demonstrating the boundaries of their knowledge and foresight. This largely depends on the primates'

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