Do animals have emotions?

Do animals have emotions?

By: Emma Compeau 1 hour

Works Cited

Other Questions

My Answer

• Do animals grieve when another animal dies?
• Do animals know realize when a human dies?
• Can animals communicate with other animals not of the same species?
• Are domesticated animals sad to leave their families such as cats and dogs?
• Would an animal recognize their mother and father 10 years after they were seperated from one another?

Bekoff, Marc. "Animal Emotions: Exploring Passionate Natures." N.p., Oct. 2000. Web.

Bekoff, Marc. "Do Animals Have Emotions? | The Bark." The Bark. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.

De Waal, Fran. "Bonobo Dialogues." Mel.org. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA19493093&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w>.

Francione, Gary. "You Hypocrites! By Granting That Animals Have Minds Similar to Ours, It Looks as If We Are Evolving in Our Moral Relationship with Other Species. Don't Be Fooled." Mel.org. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA133108942&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w>.

Johnson, David L. "Do Dogs Think?" Mel.org. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA155735537&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w>.

Stamp Dawkins, Marian. "Integrative and Comparative Biology." Animal Minds and Animal Emotions. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.

Toothman, Jessika. "Do Animals Have Emotions?" Animal Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.

Worsley, Jean B. "The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow and Empathy--and Why They Matter." Mel.org. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA179076901&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w>.

More Studies

Based on the research I did I do think animals show some type of emotion. It may not be as complex as humans but it is some form of emotion. Some scientists believe that animals don't have emotions but I agree with the scientists who do believe they have emotions. I have had many pets and I have observed that some my dog likes my dad best and my cat likes me best which shows that animals can form a bond with humans. Also I observed that when we got a new cat one of my cats hated him at first which shows signs of anger. I can tell when my cats or dogs are happy, mad, or guilty of something they did. In conclusion my question was answered, I think animals do have emotions.

Studies

• A 2007 study by the University of Guelph Scientists in Canada suggests that fish may have their own separate personalities. They studied a group of trout that were identical to each other. They were taken from their environment and to a dark tube and some were willing to take more risks in the unknown waters, some were more social, and some would rather be left alone.
• A 30 year (1977-2007) experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg was done on an African Grey Parrot named Alex. She recorded that before Alex died he had the intelligence of a human 5 year old and emotional level of a human 2 year old. He had a vocabulary of 150 words and could identify 50 different objects, quantities up to 6, he could distinguish 7 colors and 5 shapes, and understand the concepts of "bigger", "smaller", "same", and "different.”

• Researchers say that animals must be anthropomorphic to see the animal’s point of view. Researchers agree that humans and animals share many traits such as emotions. Anthropomorphic is natural and necessary to understand animal emotions.
• •Also their have been animals that have become unlikely friends. For instance in Bangkok the zoo put piglets with a tiger and the tiger treats them as if they were her own and nurses them. Also in Tokyo’s Mutsugoro Okoku Zoo a rat snake befriended a dwarf hamster. You can find relationships between their own species and other species.
• •Cognitive ethologic and social neuroscience sustain that animals do have emotions. Charles Darwin says the presence of animal emotions, empathy, and moral behavior is ideas from evolutionary continuity. Continuity shows that different species have evolved emotional traits. All animals and humans share neuroanatomical structures in the limbic system that are central for feelings.
• •Spindle cells process emotions. Spindle cells were thought to be only in humans and other great apes but studies have shown that they have been found in humpback whales, killer whales, sperm whales, and fin whales in the same area of their brains as the human brain spindle cells. A humpback whale got tangled up in a net and after she was untangled she swam up to the rescuers and winked at them before she swam off which is a sign of showing gratitude.
• •Mirror neurons have been show in Diana monkeys and chimpanzees. Mirror neurons explain empathy and support that individuals can feel the feelings of others. The chimps and monkeys help each other get food and elephants comfort others in distress. Also rhesus monkeys don’t take food if another monkey suffers. Lastly, empathic mice reacted more to pain when they saw other mice in pain.

Why I chose this topic

I chose this topic because I have had over 30 pets and have always wondered if animals had emotions. I know that animals can get angry and happy wondered if that was just natural instinct or actual emotion. A dog can be super excited to see you when you get home but tear up a shoe while you are gone. I would like to know if animals truely do show emotions.