Emotional Intelligence And Human Primates - 1709 Words

It is widely argued that there are a set of universal or basic emotions that are not common solely to humans (Ekman 1992) but whether or not secondary emotions and the extent to which non-basic emotions are found in primates is less well-known. There is a strong suggestion that non-human primates are capable of empathy and that it is a phylogenetically-continuous trait (Preston and de Waal 2002). Whether or not responses displayed in relation to death in non-human primates has been debated and will be examined here. The examples of grief and empathy will be used to highlight how complex the debate around emotional intelligence can be in primates and how important having a greater understanding this issue may be. Research is still ongoing in this area which highlights how relevant a topic it remains. Understanding if primates display grief, or what could potentially be interpreted as compassion, and how they might express it is just one of the emotional responses which can be explored. Whether or not non-human primates are capable of grief has been heavily debated, but outside of responses to infant death the response to death of primates is not highly observed. One of the most detailed descriptions of a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) group’s response to an unexpected death of an adult is described by Teleki (1973) and resulted in excited and aggressive behaviours by the group members. This group was wild and based in Gombe and the responses appear to differ greatly fromShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Macaques1748 Words   |  7 Pagesexpression to an exemplar while other examples of different expressions and neutral faces were shown. Then they were to match a video of an expression to a photograph of the exemplar while other examples were shown (Micheletta et al., 2015). These primates performed above chance, and were able to identify expressions by category regardless of the different identities that displayed them (Micheletta et al., 2015). Results showed that the use of videos improved performance, maybe because they were moreRead MoreEvolution Is The Process Of Inheriting Traits Through Dna Over Successful Generations1319 Words   |  6 Pagesselection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual s ability to compete, survive, and reproduce (Darwin, 1859). Humans have evolved over a period of almost 1.5 millions of years with creation, development and destruction of many characteristics. But how did humans look thousands of years ago, how would we look thousand years from now and how did early humans eventually occupy the whole earth stabilizing themselves as the rulers of the planet? The answers to the above questions areRead More A Comparison of Primate and Dolphin Intelligence Essay2329 Words   |  10 PagesA Comparison of Primate and Dolphin Intelligence as a Metaphor for the Validity of Comparative Studies of Intelligence Primates and cetacean have been considered by some to be extremely intelligent creatures, second only to humans. Their exalted status in the animal kingdom has lead to their involvement in many experiments which hope to gain a better understanding of the basis of human intelligence. These experiments coupled with analysis of primate and cetaceans brain structure has lead toRead MorePrimates And Evolution Of Primates1325 Words   |  6 PagesName Professor Course Date Primates and Evolution Primates are animals and to be precise mammals. Primates have a very diverse group and this means that not all species share the same suit of traits. 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We have a larger brain, the ability to have and maintain a strong, straight posture for an extended amount of time, dexterous hands, the skill to use our facial muscles to our advantage in order to express our emotio ns, the potential to solve complex problems and relate with one another. Furthermore, what it means it means to be human stems from our greater social complexity, prolonged postnatal dependence, the command of symbolic language, and the strength humans possess in comparativeRead MoreConsciousness Is The Way Beings Have Their Own Personal Experiences1311 Words   |  6 Pagesadvanced and increased in the past years. The Laboratory of Nuero Imaging states that humans have at least 70,000 thoughts racing through their heads on a normal day. These thoughts make up a part of our consciousness; our ongoing dose of qualia, or private internal experiences. It is obvious that humans have consciousness, but do other organisms share this capability? One experiment compared the cognitive ability of humans and great apes at the early stages of their development. Mammals, like apes andRead MoreWhat Defines Us as Humans?1724 Words   |  7 PagesWhat defines us as humans? Calling ourselves human is our way of categorizing ourselves as a superior species.   Although we are distinctly different, we should accept that we are in the same family as chimpanzees. Acknowledging that fact doesn t mean you are calling yourself a chimp. For example, a dog isn t a wolf even though they are from the same family. We are humans. What is it about our physical and behavioral traits that enable us to develop uniquely human capabilities? Traits like languageRead MoreThe Design : The Scars Of Human Evolution1729 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"Unintelligent Design: The Scars of Human Evolution,† a play on words of â€Å"Intelligent Design,† the theory that some higher power or entity created the universe instead of by chance, is part of an ongoing series from Boston University s Anthropology Dialogues. In this particular podcast, topics such as wisdom tooth impaction, a comparison of Oscar Pistorius prosthetic legs and the advantages it has over human feet, and pelvis morphology and how it relates to childbirth are discussed. In particularRead MoreThe Evolution of the Human Brain: How It Differs from Our Ancestors and Why?1765 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Human Brain: How it Differs From Our Ancestors and Why? The human brain is a feat of evolution: it has allowed humans to have complex thoughts, conscience, build tools, create fires, and much more. Humans did not acquire this simply by chance. Evolution throughout our ancestral past has shaped and moulded the human mind to its state. The earliest of ancestors, including apes, had very small brains, but as evolution progressed, so too did the human brain. The rapid progression of human intelligence