Intentionality in animals

Question 1

What are the problems with detecting consciousness?

Answer 1

1) No external sign so can’t be sure even for humans
How do I know you are not an android?
2) Definition unclear - “immediate subjective awareness” ?
3) Purpose unclear

Question 2

What is consciousness for?

Answer 2

We’re not 100% sure BUT

• Complex movement perhaps - Actually slows us down!
• Problem solving - however “sleep on it” works better!
• Changing type of action - Possibly smoothes changeover
• In novel situations - can mentally try options
• Social behaviour prediction.

Question 3

What is consciousness

Answer 3

awareness of the outside world and ourselves, including our own mental processes, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions

Question 4

In order to know if animals have awareness, two questions were asked - what were they?

Answer 4

1) Do animals show behaviour which can be taken as evidence of intention, belief, deception etc.?
2) Are they aware of these states of mind in the way we are? (i.e. are they conscious?)

Question 5

What is Intentionality?

Answer 5

the idea that animals think about things

Question 6

What are the orders of intentionality?

Answer 6

Zero Order

1st - 6th Order

Question 7

What is the zero order of intentionality and give an example

Answer 7

learning about stimuli

e.g. tube worm learns not to respond to safe touches, dogs learn to do tricks for rewards.

Question 8

What is the 1st order of intentionality and give an example

Answer 8

beliefs about the real (or imagined) world

e.g. Dog knows food is in the cupboard (he might be wrong).

Question 9

What is the 2nd Order of intentionality and give an example

Answer 9

beliefs about the mental state of others e.g. he knows that YOU know he won’t fall off.

Question 10

What is the 3rd Order of intentionality and give an example

Answer 10

self awareness of that knowledge

e.g. he is aware that he wants you to decide that he won’t fall off.

Question 11

What is the 4th Order of intentionality and give an example

Answer 11

self awareness of another’s knowledge about a third party.

e.g. he knows his mother thinks you know he won’t fall off.

Question 12

What is the 5th order onwards of intentionality and give an example

Answer 12

add another step each time

e.g. I am aware that I want you to believe that Michael’s mother trusts that you know he won’t fall.

Question 13

What is the 6th order of intentionality and give an example

Answer 13

people can manage these but have to write it down.

Question 14

In most situations, how many orders of intentionality do we operate at?

Answer 14

we operate at about three orders of intentionality.

Question 15

How do we decide what orders of intentionality animals show?

Answer 15

Using the “Theory of Mind”

Question 16

What is the “Theory of Mind?”

Answer 16

“Theory of Mind” is the branch of study considering animals with at least 2nd order intentionality, aware of their own and other individuals’ state of knowledge.

Question 17

Increasingly strong evidence of Theory of Mind include what :

Answer 17

1) Ability to hold abstract ideas
2) Self Awareness
3) Manipulation and deception
4) Knowledge attribution

Question 18

How does the ability to hold abstract ideas provide evidence for the theory of mind and give an example of an experiment

Answer 18

You need this to hold ideas about the world independent of what you are seeing at the time.
Irene Pepperberg studied Alex
1) Trained to respond verbally, naming objects
2) Taught words for attributes of objects e.g. colour, shape, number present
3) Offered unfamiliar objects and asked colour, number, shape
Result: Gave the correct colour, number or shape without name for object
Conclusion: must have abstract idea of colour etc. to be able to transfer it to unknown objects.

Question 19

What is the test for chimps to prove self-awareness?

Name the drawbacks

Answer 19

Classic test = “mirror test” or “mark test”
Put mark on chimp’s head when asleep, then when awake, offer mirror
Chimp will touch mark more often than they would if no mirror, and than if they didn’t recognise the reflection as themselves
Drawbacks :
BUT
Not all chimps show the behaviour
Behaviour doesn’t appear immediately
- initially respond socially
- learn over time to use mirror for self inspection

Question 20

What is the real problem with the mirror test to prove self-awareness?

Answer 20

30 Given Mark Test:
“Self-recognisers” 50% passed
“Non self-recognisers” 11% passed
Very imperfect correlation between results and skill we think it tests!

Question 21

How does manipulation and deception provide evidence for the theory of mind? Example!

Answer 21

If animals are aware of each others’ thoughts, they may use this knowledge to manipulate or deceive them.
Female groomed by subdominant, hides from dominant male.
Must have at least 2nd order intentionality to know the male’s mind holds information different from her own.
But beware of instrumental learning once again!

Question 22

What is the triangulation method

Answer 22

method of testing theory of mind by comparing behaviour in learned situations with behaviour in novel situation. Transfer to novel situation avoids the possibility of learning as explanation
If just associative learning, then learn each situation separately, if not then interconnected!

Question 23

With the triangulation method, what is the purpose of transferring to novel situations?

Answer 23

Transfer to novel situation avoids the possibility of learning as explanation

Question 24

A triangulation test was done on Long tailed macaques - explain

Answer 24

Triangulation Test: Screen added for monkeys to hide behind
Training: Monkeys learned to avoid drinking when trainer facing cage as would spray them with hose.
If drank when his back is turned, no penalty.
Have they learned:
“trainer will stop me drinking if he sees me” (theory of mind response)
or:
“Don’t drink if trainer facing or I get wet”?
(Instrumental learning rule)
Results: No preference for screened site when experimenter facing.
Conclusion: no evidence of > 0 order intentionality

Question 25

How do chimps show 2nd order of intentionality

Answer 25

Gaze following in chimps
Trainer looks at board in front of chimp’s enclosure
Can chimp work out where trainer can see?
If not, looks at X in the wall
If yes, looks round front of board
Result: Chimp looks round front of the board
Conclusion: Chimps can follow gaze, and can understand the trainer cannot see through the board.
Suggests 2nd order intentionality

Question 26

What is the Classic Knowledge Attribution test for humans?

Answer 26

The Two-Box Test

• Show child where toy is while clown (or Mum) is watching.
• Send clown away, then move toy, watched by child
• Bring clown back and ask child where clown will look for toy.
• If child can do knowledge attribution, he chooses the original position (as knows others may not know everything he does).

Question 27

Describe the non-verbal version of the two-box test

Describe the difference between chimps and rhesus monkeys when this test was performed

Answer 27

1) Knower and Chimp sees apple hidden but chimp doesn’t see which box.
2) Guesser comes in and both indicate a box
3) Chimp decides whether to believe knower or guesser
Chimps:
Learned to follow knower’s advice
BUT it took 400 trials and even then not perfect.
Improved with time
Rhesus Monkeys :
At first couldn’t learn it but perhaps hard to tell people apart.
With red hat on knower still couldn’t learn.
With red hat on knower’s hand could do it but took many trials.
PROBS instrumental learning

Question 28

Theory of mind influence is small compared with learning - describe

Answer 28

Watched videos of the test and got money if they chose the right box.
Group 1 - Knower always correct.
Group 2 - Guesser always correct, knower wrong
Prediction: Group 2 should be confused by contradiction with their theory of mind assumptions and make more errors.
Result: Both groups were equally good at getting correct box.
Instrumental learning strong and fast enough that contradiction for group 2 not a factor.