Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2019)
18 Wednesday, February 27, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Paw Prints Jodi Schneider McNamee Columnist Self-awareness and pets A lot of research has been built up around self-aware- ness 4 the ability to recog- nize the self as distinct from the environment. It9s having consciousness and knowl- edge of the self as an indi- vidual. Humans have self- awareness and we9re able to recognize our body, our feelings, and our thoughts as our own. But an unsettling ques- tion has hounded human- ity for generations: Are we alone in our self-awareness; do other animals have a sense of self, too? Because you can9t ask animals what they think about, the classic way to study self-awareness in animals is with the mirror test developed by Gordon Gallup, Jr. in 1970. To con- duct the test, an animal9s body is secretly marked, for example by placing odorless red dye on the face, and then the animal is given access to a mirror. If he understands he is looking at himself and not another animal, he might touch the mark while look- ing in the mirror or turn his body to better see the mark9s reflection. That would indicate self- recognition, which hints at self-awareness. Self-recognition in a mirror may seem obvious to humans, but it requires cognitive sophistication. We are not born with the abil- ity to recognize ourselves in mirrors. Young infants may be fascinated by their reflec- tion, but they view this as a social interaction with what appears to be another baby. Somewhere between the age of 18 and 24 months, babies begin to understand that they are looking at themselves in a mirror. Over the years many psychology experts have used the <mirror test= to determine whether an ani- mal is self-aware to the level that humans are. Only a few animal species have passed the test. Surprisingly, dogs are not one of them. Elephants, dolphins, orcas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and European magpies have passed the reflection test. Pigs haven9t passed it, but they can use their reflection to locate food that9s placed behind them. Surprisingly, gorillas have not passed the test, and this may be because gorillas consider eye contact an aggressive gesture and normally try to avoid look- ing each other in the face. At least one specific gorilla, Koko, did pass the test. Many dogs, cats, birds, and even reptiles like liz- ards may react oddly when they see their own reflec- tion, either trying to play with their reflection or even attacking it. Cats also haven9t passed the mir- ror test, and it seems that they have the most consis- tently violent reaction to seeing themselves. When they see their reflection, they think they9re seeing another cat. Because cats tend to be territorial, they may react by puffing themselves up and trying to defend their territory from the new intruder. Many people are puzzled by the fact that dogs seem to ignore images of themselves reflected in a mirror. This lack of understanding seems surprising, considering the other complex mental and social skills dogs possess. Dogs are highly intelligent, extremely social, and fit right in with human house- holds, even to the extent of voluntarily learning to recognize the meaning of human words. Anyone who saw the 60 Minutes segment on bor- der collies knows that these clever dogs are extremely attentive to the needs of their pet parents. One collie had a large collection of about 1,000 stuffed toys that he could retrieve on demand. It suggests that the dog has a clear grasp of his compan- ions9 intentions, hinting that a capacity for self-awareness is not unthinkable. When young puppies encounter mirrors for the first time, they treat the image as if it is another dog. They may bark at it or give a little bow and an invitation to play as if they are encoun- tering a real dog and engag- ing in a social interaction. However, after a short while they lose interest. As adults they often seem to treat their reflections as if they don9t see themselves or as if it9s of no consequence. The conclusion that researchers drew from the fact that dogs fail the mark and mirror test is that dogs lack self-awareness, and thus consciousness. Another conclusion that could be drawn is that dogs recognize that that is their own reflec- tion, but they are simply not as vain and concerned with their appearance as higher primates. Dog-lovers complain that the mirror test favors visual animals like primates but makes it difficult for dogs, which are more focused on auditory and olfactory cues. Humans are visual crea- tures; we experience the world primarily through sight. Dogs do not. A dog9s sense of smell is his main gateway to the world. This led Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, a researcher at Tomsk State University in Russia, to hypothesize that scent may be the window to self- recognition and possibly self-awareness in dogs. He developed the sniff test of self-recognition and found that dogs seemed to recog- nize whether an odor was their own. This sniff-test could change the way some exper- iments on animal behavior are validated. Gatti said, <I believe that dogs and other animals, being much less sensitive to visual stimuli than humans and many apes, cannot pass the mirror test because of the sensory modality cho- sen by the investigator to test self-awareness. This PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE This conure gets excited to see what she thinks is another bird. is not necessarily due to the absence of this cogni- tive ability in some animal species.= Real. Interesting. Podcasts. BRENT MCGREGOR • JACKK M C G O W A N • L A N E JACOBSON • LEN B A B B • C R I S C O N V E R S SE E • RICK R I C K SCHWERTFEGER SC • C A R L O S CONSTANZO NZZO • DR. D LORISSA A HINES H I N E S • GREG WALKER • BRENT MCGREGOR G O R • JACK ACK MCGO MCGOWAN N • LEN L BABBB • L A N E JACOBSON • CRIS ISS C CONVERSE ER • K S C H W E R T F E G E R • RICK STEBBE R • D R . L O R • CARLOS C A R CONSTANNZ O • G R E G W A L K E R • BRENT B R E N T MCGRE M C G R E G O R • J A C K MCGOW CGOWAN RunningIronReport.com ingIro i ingIronR n g I r o n R e epor p o r • LEN ENN B BA BABB ABB B • LANE L A ANE NE JACOBSON NE J A ACO JA C CO O OBS OB B SON SO ON N • CRIS C CR R I IS S CONVERSE CONV C CO O ON VER RS E • R RICK on iTunes S C H W E R TFEGER FEGER Available • RICK STEBER • DR. LORISSA HINES HIN Craig Rullman | Jim Cornelius WHY DO COMPLETELY IN-CANAL HEARING AIDS WORK BETTER? • Virtually invisible • Fit closer to the eardrum providing superior sound • Better hearing in background noise • Stay put for active lifestyles Completely In-Canal, Discreet Hearing Aids Are Our Specialty — We Accept All Insurance Plans — 541-317-1265 | 1625 NE 2nd St. | Bend, OR Sisters Dental is uniting with our neighbor Everson Family Dentistry! Increased & More Flexible Hygiene Appointments Expanded Dental Care Services Same Compassionate Dental Team! 541-549-9486 | www.sistersdental.com Trevor Frideres D . M . D . Greg Everson D . M . D . This ad sponsored by The Nugget Newspaper