Different in degree or kind: Ape theory of mind (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, October 06, 2016, 19:39 (2759 days ago) @ David Turell

A new study looks at an ape's ability to assess what another mind is thinking:-http://phys.org/news/2016-10-apes.html-"This ability to recognize that someone's beliefs may differ from reality has long been seen as unique to humans. -"But new research on chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans suggests our primate relatives may also be able to tell when something is just in your head.-***-"The capacity to tell when others hold mistaken beliefs is seen as a key milestone in human cognitive development. Humans develop this awareness in early childhood, usually before the age of five. It marks the beginning of a young child's ability to fully comprehend the thoughts and emotions of others—what psychologists call theory of mind.-***-"To some extent apes can read minds too. Over the years, studies have shown that apes are remarkably skilled at understanding what others want, what others might know based on what they can see and hear, and other mental states. But when it comes to understanding what someone else is thinking even when those thoughts are false, apes have consistently failed the test.-***-"In the study, the apes watched two short videos. In one, a person in a King Kong suit hides himself in one of two large haystacks while a man watches. Then the man disappears through a door, and while no one is looking the King Kong runs away. In the final scene the man reappears and tries to find King Kong.-***-"To pass the test, the apes must predict that when the man returns, he will mistakenly look for the object where he last saw it, even though they themselves know it is no longer there.-"In both cases, the apes stared first and longest at the location where the man last saw the object, suggesting they expected him to believe it was still hidden in that spot."-"Their results mirror those from similar experiments with human infants under the age of two.-"This is the first time that any nonhuman animals have passed a version of the false belief test," Krupenye said.-"The findings suggest the ability is not unique to humans, but has existed in the primate family tree for at least 13 to 18 million years, since the last common ancestors of chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and humans."-Comment: I'm not surprised. Humans and apes all started at the same place in evolution. But look how far we developed a difference and they are the same. Why? God.