Discussion Questions: Neural Mechanisms and Animal Behavior
1. There are different factors to consider when studying how animals behave and adapt to their surroundings. Different animals have their respective perceptions and their way of encountering information, so the concept of dependent, independent, and controlled variables might come into play (Mackenzie 41). Therefore, examining the perception of each animal may depend on changing situations. One variable important in the study of animal behavior is their circadian mechanisms. Any formulated hypotheses and experimental findings could be critical in studying the adaptation of animals and their methods of stimulus filtering that occur at specific intervals. The concept of personification may have a significant factor in the study as both humans and animals share a common neural mechanism of our senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
2. Why it is more important to be more objective than to be more anthropomorphic when studying animal behavior? Anthropomorphism may be a substance of an animal behavior experiment. Anthropomorphism may be limited only to the study because the animals’ neural senses, instincts and the structure are identical to the human nervous system. In other terms, anthropomorphic claims may fall under the objectives of any experiment depending on the variables. It is also important to be objective when studying animal behavior because the idea of anthropomorphism can elicit assumptions (Mackenzie 41). Anthropomorphism may correlate to perception in some way. In science, perceived data can only lead you to formulation of conclusions, and there may be no instances of further study undertaken in an experiment.
Works Cited
Mackenzie, Donald. (2014, Sept. 9) “Creation Legend of Sun Worshippers.” Dialogues of Belief and Reason Level 200. 1st ed. Eds. Michael Lewis and Thomas Ferstle. Boca Raton, FL: Lynn University, 2014. 44-55. Web.
