Psychology

Cognition plays a pivotal role in any living being and the study of brain functions of animals shed light on the thinking process in humans. Animals learn functions through repetitive experiences and intuition and some of them have been able to make excellent tools. Brain function and comparative cognition require detailed comparison and extensive research. This research will yield useful results about the collection, processing, storage and retrieval of information in animal species and their correlation with human brain function.

Psychology heavily emphasize on cognition and brain functions that dictate the behavior of humans and other animal species. During the course of evolution, humans improved their cognition to a greater degree and thus emerged as the most socially intelligent species in the world. The study of cognition and the behaviors in other animals sheds light on the correlation between humans and animals and offers clear understanding of the evolution of brain functions. A new field of psychology, known as animal cognition or comparative cognition, has thus emerged.

Primates are the brightest lot among animals but crows have also shown an astute penchant for learning. A female crow learned to bend metal wire into a hook and then used that hook to haul food container out of a vertical pipe. She was able to do that nine times out of ten attempts. It led behavioral psychologists to believe that she had acquired the ability to use the wire as a tool for food supply (Mazur, 2005, p. 276).

Primates are naturally more inclined to use tools. A chimpanzee learnt how to hit one stone with another to make it sharp for cutting. The chimp learnt the trick to an extent where he started doing it on his own and made some sharp cutting tools that helped him in hunting. Chimps also use leaves as towels to wipe their bodies and as a cover from rain.

Behavioral psychologists can explore other examples of animals learning tool-making skills if they delve deeper into their world and teach them those skills. It is the limitation of interaction with animals that impedes research on comparative cognition and not the lack of intellectual strength on part of animals.