The history of objective studies of numerical competence in animals dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. There are several early experiments at the origins of this field, and one of them is an instructive anecdote that has been cited in many textbooks, articles and reports for more than a century as an example of the need for strict control in experiments. We are talking about an Oryol trotter named Clever Hans, whom his master, Baron von Osten, demonstrated as being able not only to distinguish the numbers written on the board, but also to perform arithmetic operations and even extract roots (see: Rybenko, this collection). Hans marked the results with the corresponding number of hoof strikes. A commission of psychologists and zoopsychologists was assembled to discuss and revise these achievements. Von Osten was not at all going to mislead the experts, he sincerely believed in the exceptional mental abilities of horses, among which Hans was his most capable, but not his only student. It was far from immediately possible to establish that the horse reacts to changes in the behavior of the owner that are subtle for people. Therefore, he answered only those questions to which von Osten himself knew the answer. So, horses can't extract roots. What are the limits of the numerical competence of animals? This review analyzes the results of studies by experimenters who worked with a variety of creatures, from bipeds to six-legs. The first experiments that revealed the ability to count in tetrapods were carried out on rhesus monkeys by A. Kinnaman. , experiments conducted with them in the laboratory of cognitive primatology at Columbia University. Elizabeth Brennon and laboratory director Herbert Terrace found that rhesus monkeys can arrange pictures with different numbers of objects in ascending and descending order, moreover, they are able to transfer the skills gained by operating with a sequence of fewer objects to a sequence of more of them. Experiments were also carried out with chimpanzees, who more quickly mastered experiments that revealed their ability to count, numerology. The chimpanzees studied learned to use Arabic numerals, i.e., symbols to indicate the number of elements in the sets presented to them. T. Matsuzawa brought up the mathematically gifted chimpanzee Ai, named after the first letters of Artificial Intelligence (artificial intelligence), with the aim of "opposing" the successes of a living animal to the achievements of robots. The researcher taught Ai to distinguish between groups of pictures on the screen and Arabic numerals from 1 to 7. The results of Ai's choice did not depend on the size, color, shape and relative position of elements in the groups. Sara Boysen and her colleagues developed a method that allowed, gradually increasing the complexity of tasks , to show that chimpanzees are able not only to estimate, count and designate the number of objects, but also to perform elementary arithmetic operations. The Sheba chimpanzee was taught almost all the elements of "true counting". Experiments were also carried out with elephants. These animals are able to distinguish such numbers even more accurately than humans. Elephants are highly intelligent animals and are members of a small, elite group of animal creatures that also includes humans, great apes, magpies, and dolphins. All of the above have the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror image. Elephants show a sense of regret after the death of one of the representatives of these animals, take care of their fellows if they are sick. This time, the Asian elephant named Ashya was surprised: he proved that he is a real math wizard. When the trainer threw 3 apples into the first bucket and 1 apple into the second bucket, then 4 more apples into the first bucket and 5 apples into the second, the elephant was able to calculate that 3 + 4 is more than 5 and chose the bucket that contained 7 apples. All this proves that numerical information is an evolutionarily important aspect. As scientists say, numerical information helps animals in determining the strength of the enemy, his numbers. Roughly counting the number of rivals, the animals decide whether they should fight or not.

Municipal budget institution

"Ermakovskaya secondary school No. 2"

Research work

"Can animals think?"

Kulinchenko Camilla and Syatkin Dima

Supervisor : Tyulberova A.A.,

Primary school teacher, ESOSH №2

Ermakovskoye, 2016

Introduction

Chapter I. Theoretical review of the literature.

1. .The science that studies the intelligence of animals.

1. .Rezultaty research scientists.

1. .The smartest animal.

Chapter II. Identification of the generalized opinion of the interviewed people about the ability of animals to think.

2.1. Organization and research methods.

2.2. Observations.

2.3. Questioning.

2.5.IQ test for cats.

Conclusion.

Bibliography.

Application.

Introduction

We have pets at home - cats, dogs, fish. We love to watch them. There is an opinion of people that animals are rational beings. Evidence of this can be cited from life - a dog can run for a newspaper, cats demonstrate captured mice. There is a story about how a dog for many years at a certain time comes to meet his long-lost sailor master. How can you explain the behavior of some animals? "Can animals think?" "Do they have intelligence?"

These questions have been on the minds of people for a long time. And today, the riddles of animal behavior are of interest not only to scientists, but to all those who love nature.

Hypothesis: we assume that animals are capable of thinking.

Objects of study: cats, hamsters.

Subject of study:intellectual abilities of animals.

Objective : find the answer to the question - can animals think?

Tasks:

1) study the literature on this topic;

2) watch feature and popular science films;

3) watch pets;

4) interview relatives and friends;

5) analyze the results and formulate conclusions

Working methods:

theoretical: study of sources of information;

practical : observation, questioning;

Interviewing;

Generalization and conclusions.

Practical significance: the results of the study can be used in the lessons of the surrounding world, in class hours and in life.

Chapter I Theoretical review of the literature.

1. The science that studies the intelligence of animals.

As a result of studying the topic, we got acquainted with science - cognitive ethology.Cognitive ethology(lat. cognitio - knowledge) studies the intelligence of animals. Intelligence is understood as the ability to carry out the process of cognition and to solve problems, in particular, when mastering a new range of life tasks. "Cognitive" means "learning process". Cognitive processes include perception, memorization, information processing, decision making.

Cognitive ethology is a relatively new science around which until recently there were critical opinions regarding the scientific status.

Cognitive ethology has common areas of study with a number of scientific fields and disciplines. Within the framework of cognitive ethology, it is considered:

Zoopsychology studies the patterns and functions of the psyche, innate and acquired, considering in a comparative aspect the psychology of primates and humans, especially children.

Comparative psychology- a branch of psychology that studies the similarities and differences in behavior and psyche between animals and humans

Ethology studies innate, instinctive forms of behavior

1.2. The results of the study of scientists

When asked whether animals think, scientists answer this question in different ways. While the behavior of animals is studied only in laboratories by physiological methods, the answer was: no, they don’t think, they have the same instincts and reflexes, I. P. Pavlov fined his employees for the expressions: “the dog thought”, “the dog wanted”, “the dog felt” . But at the end of his career, he already wrote that the conditioned reflex is not only a physiological phenomenon, but also a psychological one.

German scientist German Reimarus admitted that animals have actions that can be compared with rational human behavior. Reimarus, like his contemporaries and predecessors, included in this category, first of all, the ability to imitate and learn.

He spoke for the first time about the presence of intelligence and emotions in animals Charles Darwin , who believed that, along with instincts and associations, they also have "the ability to reason." Darwin believed that the rudiments of the mind ("the ability to reason" - Eng. Reasoning) are also inherent in many animals, like instincts and the ability to learn.

A friend and associate of Darwin also spoke about the evolutionary process, John Romens (1848-1894). The most famous was his book The Mind of Animals (1888), where he acted as a naturalist who sought to prove the unity and continuity of the development of the psyche at all levels of the evolutionary process.

A. N. Severtsov in his book "Evolution and the Psyche" (1922) believed that in animals, in addition to instincts and simple conditioned reflexes, there is a type of behavior that can be characterized as reasonable.

Head of the Laboratory of Physiology and Genetics of Behavior, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Doctor of BiologyZoya Alexandrovna Zorina: “The unique abilities of a person, his thinking really have biological prerequisites. And between the human psyche and the psyche of animals there is no impassable abyss, which for a long time was somehow attributed and implied. Moreover, back in the middle of the 19th century, Darwin said about this that the difference between the psyche of man and animals, no matter how great it may be, is a difference in degree, not in quality.

A special contribution to the study of the behavior and psyche of animals was made byNadezhda Nikolaevna Ladygina-Kots(Fig. 1). Nadezhda Nikolaevna Ladygina-Kots in 1913 bought a chimpanzee who was 1.5 years old. And for two and a half years she studied him, described his behavior and for the first time showed clearly, reliably, experimentally that, at least in chimpanzees, there are elements of human thinking, that they are capable of generalization.

In the same years, in 1914, a German scientist Wolfgang Köhler , working all these years with a colony of monkeys, he became convinced that anthropoid monkeys, anthropoid apes, in any case .. that their behavior is by no means only and not so much the result of learning; and not only instincts and some innate reactions underlie their behavior; that these animals are capable, when faced with a new task, for which they have no solution, as such, neither innate nor acquired as a result of learning, that they are able to solve these problems. How? By analyzing the situation.

At the beginning of the 20th century (1900-1904) Baron W. von Osten, convinced of the enormous mental abilities of horses, he taught several of them to distinguish colors, the alphabet and “counting”. The recognition of each letter or number was indicated by the corresponding number of hoof beats.

Foreign scientists have come to such conclusions only now, and our ornithologists have known all this for a long time. That is, that the crow has intelligence. More than two years ago, in the newspaper "World of News" the article was called "Intellectual Crow". And there it is said that the famous Russian scientist Leonid Viktorovich Krushinsky made something like a rating of the mental abilities of representatives of the fauna. This rating shows that among the birds the smartest are crows and jackdaws (jackdaws, by the way, belong to the same family of corvids as crows and crows), moreover, crows are higher in mental development than cats, dogs and even wolves. “Some of the tasks that wolves solved were handled by seven-year-olds,” the scientists say. "It's easy to assume that a crow's mind corresponds to the intelligence of an eight or nine-year-old child."

1.3. The smartest animal

Ask five scientists to list the smartest animals and you'll get five different answers. Most experts consider man to be the most developed, complex and intelligent animal, but some question this. In identifying the smartest animals, the problem in particular is that there are several different kinds of intelligence: the ability to communicate, the ability to adapt to the environment, and the ability to solve problems that arise. And scientists have always tried to find out how the brains of animals work - despite the fact that communication between animals and people is very limited. People traditionally consider themselves the smartest creatures. We are able to think, analyze, memorize and reproduce information. However, we are not the only ones who can do this. Here is a list of 6 smartest animals, which are not very different from people in their mental abilities. (Table 1)

Table 1.

Chapter II Revealing the generalized opinion of the interviewed people about the ability of animals to think.

2.1. Organization and research methods.

We conducted an interview to identify opinions about whether animals can think. The following questions were asked:

1. Do animals think or not?

2. What role can understanding their thinking abilities play?

In order to find the answer, we went to a veterinary clinic and interviewed a veterinarian - Krytsina Elena Sergeevna.

To our questions, Elena Sergeevna said that, in her opinion, animals think and even feel. When animals come for treatment, they are nervous and worried. Of course, animals differ from each other in their behavior, they, like people, are different in character. When some animals are brought in for treatment, they behave calmly, as if they are waiting for help, they feel human kindness, although the treatment is a little painful. Other pets are very worried, scream, break out of their hands, try to run away, and when they visit the clinic again, they behave the same way, remembering unpleasant procedures.

We took a sick cat for a conversation with a veterinarian - his ears hurt, Elena Sergeevna examined Kuzya and prescribed treatment. Now our cat is healthy.

When we were at the circus, we watched different animals during the performance, the scene with the crocodile was the one we liked the most. The trainer showed the number - the struggle of a man with a crocodile. At the end of the performance, we asked the trainer if animals think? In his opinion: “Reason cannot develop in reptiles at any size of the brain. They are cold-blooded and their brain functions in such a way that all conditioned reflexes are lost when the brain is cooled to a certain low temperature. But the whole rationality of a person consists of conditioned reflexes. Without them, we would be animals."

2.2. Observations.

Dogs and cats that live nearby are amazing with their ingenuity. We have not opened the gate for the dog for a long time, she copes with it perfectly herself. Standing on its hind legs, with its front legs it reaches the handle and presses it, and it knows perfectly well in which direction it opens. If you need to enter, she leans on her, and if you leave, then with her teeth and paws she opens herself.

Djungarian hamsters live in our house - it is very interesting to watch them. The hamster Homa has two wheels in a cage, he always sleeps in one, and runs in the other, and he will never confuse them. And we also conducted an experiment - we wrapped a piece of apple in a candy wrapper. Hamsters easily got their favorite treat out of the wrapper.

Some people consider animals to be just biorobots that have no feelings, but only instincts and reflexes. Undoubtedly, these same instincts and reflexes underlie the behavior of animals. But none of the people who communicate with animals in the slightest degree will deny that they have feelings that cannot be called otherwise than reasonable.

2.3. Questioning.

We conducted a survey on the topic “Do animals think?” among children of 4 "a" class. 25 children were interviewed. The questionnaire consists of 5 questions. (Table 2)

Table 2

From the answers, it became clear that all families of the children surveyed have pets, and even several. All 25 children answered that they love their pets, they are glad to communicate with them, their mood improves.

To the question "Do animals think?"

"Yes" answered 86%

"No" answered 4%

“I don’t know” answered 10%

Chart 1

Also, a survey was conducted among the parents of those previously interviewed children and the question “Do animals think”

"Yes" answered 74%

"No" answered 16%

“I don’t know” answered 10%

Schedule

2.4. Analysis of fiction.

Working on our topic, we read not only scientific literature, but also fiction. We read stories about animals by famous writers, about their attitude to the animal world. (Table 3)

Table 3

2.5. IQ test for cats

Intelligence tests are now very widely used in America and Europe to determine the mental potential of adults and children. According to the results of this test, the intelligence quotient - IQ is determined. The higher the IQ, the more highly developed a person (or animal) is considered. A great variety of IQ tests have been developed, including for various types of animals.

According to the tests, we decided to determine the IQ of our cat. The domestic cat intelligence test assesses the cat's motor coordination, wordless communication ability, and environmental adjustment.

According to the test results, the cat scored 78 points. And that means he's smart. See appendix 1.

Conclusion.

The above material shows that animals really have the rudiments of thinking. The main feature of thinking is that it ensures the ability of the animal to make a new adequate decision at the first encounter with an unusual situation.

Scientists call the intelligence of animals in different ways: thinking, intellect, mind or rational activity. As a rule, the word “elementary” is also added, because no matter how “intelligent” animals behave, only a few elements of human thinking are available to them.

Observations obtained, literature study helped us to conclude: “Yes, animals think, but not like people!” But, despite the external complexity and the apparent "reasonableness" of the behavior of animals in nature, their ability to think is at a low level and is poorly expressed. Most of the outwardly complex forms of their behavior are based on instincts and individual experience acquired by animals in the process of life.

But let's not forget that the process of cognition is endless, that any scientific discovery raises new questions and often raises more than it solves. But one answer is known for sure: a person must finally understand that all life on Earth has the right to life, and in conditions when it is in the hands of a person that enormous forces and opportunities are concentrated, a person is responsible for nature, for its preservation and development. Otherwise, he cannot be considered reasonable, since real reason must be good. Man must learn this kindness from animals, even if their intelligence is not very similar to his own. And only when a person becomes kind and generous, he will be able to find a common language with animals, only then their mind and ours will understand each other.

Bibliography

1. Zhanna Reznikova. Intelligence and language of animals and humans. Fundamentals of cognitive ethology. - 1st ed. - M.: Akademkniga, 2005. - 518 p.

2.Karoy Akos "Do animals think?"

3. Z.A. Zorina. Elementary Animal Thinking: Textbook. M.: Aspect Press, 2002.- 320 p.

4.K.E.Fabry. Fundamentals of zoopsychology

Application

IQ test for cats

Do not try to force the cat to act correctly when performing the tasks of the test, just carefully observe it if you want to get an objective result. Do not test kittens under eight weeks old. The test does not require any special equipment. A rope, a pillow, a mirror, and a large plastic bag with handles are all you need.

Part I

Answer the questions carefully.

When answering, your cat gets 1 point

3 points

5 points.

Questions

1. Does your cat feel your mood changes throughout the day?

2. The cat performs at least two verbal commands, for example: , ?

3. Does the cat recognize the expression on the owner's face, such as a smile, an angry frown, an expression of pain or fear?

4. Has the cat developed its own language to express its feelings and desires, for example: purr, squeak, purr, scream?

5. The cat has a certain order of washing, for example, first washes its muzzle with its paw, then licks its back and hind legs, and so on.

6. The cat associates certain events with feelings of joy or pain, such as a car ride, a visit to the vet, and so on.

7. Does a cat have a memory: does it remember names, places it has been to before, favorite but rarely received foods?

8. Does the cat tolerate the presence of other animals, even if they approach her closer than 1 meter?

9. Does the cat have a sense of time, for example, does she know the time of feeding, brushing, etc.?

10. Does a cat use the same paw to wash certain areas of its muzzle, for example, does it wash only the left half of its muzzle with its left paw?

Part II

Follow the test instructions exactly. Each task can be repeated 3 times, while choosing the highest score.

First task.

Put in a large, open plastic bag. Make sure the cat sees the bag. Then carefully observe and give the cat points.

A. The cat approaches the bag with curiosity - 1 point.

B. Any part of the body touches the bag (nose, mustache, paw, and so on) - 1 point.

B. The cat looks into the bag - 2 points.

D. She enters the package, then immediately leaves - 3 points.

D. The cat enters the bag and stays there for at least 10 seconds - 3 points.

Second task.

Take a medium-sized pillow and a rope or twine about 1 meter long. Place a pillow in front of the cat while she watches the moving rope. Then slowly pull the rope under the pillow so that it gradually disappears from one side of the pillow and appears on the other.

A. The cat follows the movement of the rope with its eyes - 1 point.

B. The cat touches the rope with its paw - 1 point.

B. She looks at the place on the pillow where the rope disappeared - 2 points.

D. Tries to catch the end of the rope under the pillow with his paw - 2 points.

D. The cat lifts the pillow with its paw to see if the rope is there - 2 points.

E. She looks at the pillow from the side where the rope will appear or has already appeared - 3 points.

Third task.

You need a portable mirror measuring approximately 60-120 cm. Lean the mirror against a wall or furniture. Put your cat in front of a mirror. Watch her and earn points.

A. The cat approaches the mirror - 2 points.

B. Notices his reflection in the mirror - 2 points.

B. Hits the mirror with his paw, plays with his own reflection - 3 points.

The owner answers the questions of this task based on his observations of the cat.

1. Your cat is well oriented in the apartment. This manifests itself in such a way that the cat always runs to the right windows and doors if something interesting happens behind them - 5 points.

2. The cat releases objects from the paw in accordance with its desire or with the instructions of the owner. Your cat will never drop an object by accident - 5 points.

Part IV

If the answer to the questions of this task is positive, the indicated points are subtracted from the total points scored in the previous tasks.

1. The cat sleeps or naps more time than it is awake - subtract 2 points.

2. The cat often plays with its own tail - subtract 1 point.

3. The cat is poorly oriented in the apartment, it can even get lost - subtract 2 points.

Evaluation of results:

Calculate the total number of points scored in the first three parts, and subtract from it the points scored in the fourth part.

82-88 points - your cat is talented and very smart

75-81 points - your cat is very smart

69-74 points - your cat's mental abilities are above average

56-68 points - your cat's mental abilities are average

50-55 points - your cat's mental abilities are slightly below average

44-49 points - your cat is stupid

43 or less points - your cat is completely stupid.

Can animals think? Can animals think? Prepared the research work a Research work was prepared by the 4th grade students "a" of the Gymnasium 3 Saratova Patrakeeva Anastasia Patrakeeva Anastasia Supervisor: Kolotova Larisa Alexandrovna

The weapons of people who lived in the conditions of the primitive system were weaker than the natural weapons of animals, the animals were stronger, more agile and smarter. Animals seemed to be superior to people. The weapons of people who lived in the conditions of the primitive system were weaker than the natural weapons of animals, the animals were stronger, more agile and smarter. Animals seemed to be superior to people.

Look in books and in the computer It turns out that animals and humans have similar behavioral instincts. They know how to demand or obey, but animals do not know how to evaluate their actions. It turns out that animals and humans have similar behavioral instincts. They know how to demand or obey, but animals do not know how to evaluate their actions.

21 So, we can say that animals act intelligently if: They are able to generalize the information they receive They are able to generalize the information they receive If they successfully solve problems that are new to them If they successfully solve problems that are new to them If they act according to a pre-established plan If they act according to a pre-planned plan

23 My opinion on the research topic: Animals are able to "think", communicate in "their" language; Animals are able to "think", communicate in "their" language; An intelligent person behaves in nature unreasonably; An intelligent person behaves in nature unreasonably; Animals live in harmony with nature. Animals live in harmony with nature.

Everything about everything. Volume 3 Likum Arkady

Can animals count?

Perhaps you have seen trained seals, bears, and dogs in the circus that can solve simple arithmetic problems. Doesn't it seem like these animals can count? However, this is actually not the case! It's just that a seal or a dog gets "tips" from their trainers. The dog that barked three times in response to the question, "What is five minus two?" - stops, having received a signal imperceptible to the viewer from its owner, for example, a nod of the head. Of course, animals are able to distinguish a large amount of something from a smaller one. Many of them from two baskets, one of which contains five pieces of food, and the other six, choose the second.

The same, however, can be said about very young children who have no idea about figures and numbers. However, the ability to distinguish more from less and the ability to count are not the same thing. However, scientists believe that some species of animals and birds do have this ability. In one of the experiments set up to test this statement, a pigeon was offered food one grain at a time. And every time after six good grains, he was offered the seventh, not suitable for food. After some time, the pigeon learned to count to six, and when they put the seventh grain in it, he even refused to try it!

In another experiment, chimpanzees were taught to pick up one, two, three, four or five straws from the ground and give the person exactly as many of them as he asked for. However, if there were more than five straws, the chimpanzee began to get confused and make mistakes.