INSTINCT AND INTELLECT-READING QUIZ

The fact that a dog can smell things a person can’t doesn’t make him a genius—it just makes him a dog. Humans can see things dogs can’t, but that doesn’t make us smarter. However, when you look at the jobs some animals have invented for themselves using their advanced perceptual abilities, you’re moving into the realm of true cognition, which is solving a problem under novel conditions. The story of the fire alarm parrot is an example of an animal using advanced perceptual ability to solve a problem no parrot was born knowing how to solve. Fire alarm parrots are parrots who, their owners say, can predict a fire before it starts.

1-The passage suggests that animals can invent jobs for themselves by applying their unique perceptual abilities in novel ways.

• true

• false

2 The fact that a dog can smell things a person can’t doesn’t make him a genius—it just makes him a dog. Humans can see things dogs can’t, but that doesn’t make us smarter. However, when you look at the jobs some animals have invented for themselves using their advanced perceptual abilities, you’re moving into the realm of true cognition, which is solving a problem under novel conditions. The story of the fire alarm parrot is an example of an animal using advanced perceptual ability to solve a problem no parrot was born knowing how to solve. Fire alarm parrots are parrots who, their owners say, can predict a fire before it starts.

2-Predicting a fire before it starts is a natural behavior that all parrots are born with.

• True

• False

The fact that a dog can smell things a person can’t doesn’t make him a genius—it just makes him a dog. Humans can see things dogs can’t, but that doesn’t make us smarter. However, when you look at the jobs some animals have invented for themselves using their advanced perceptual abilities, you’re moving into the realm of true cognition, which is solving a problem under novel conditions. The story of the fire alarm parrot is an example of an animal using advanced perceptual ability to solve a problem no parrot was born knowing how to solve. Fire alarm parrots are parrots who, their owners say, can predict a fire before it starts.

3-True cognition is demonstrated only when an animal uses its innate abilities to solve familiar problems.

• True

• False

There’s still controversy over whether you can train a parrot to predict a fire, and so far people haven’t had a lot of luck trying. However, there are a number of parrots who have figured it out on their own. These parrots were trained as fire alarm parrots, meaning they can alert people when there is fire. The parrot might be trained to imitate the noise of a fire alarm or start flying and making noise to get people’s attention. Those are all standard helpful behaviors any parrot can be trained to perform.

4-Fire alarm parrots are trained to alert people by imitating the sound of a fire alarm or by making noise and flying around.

• False

• True

There’s still controversy over whether you can train a parrot to predict a fire, and so far people haven’t had a lot of luck trying. However, there are a number of parrots who have figured it out on their own. These parrots were trained as fire alarm parrots, meaning they can alert people when there is fire. The parrot might be trained to imitate the noise of a fire alarm or start flying and making noise to get people’s attention. Those are all standard helpful behaviors any parrot can be trained to perform.

5-Parrots predicting fires is a behavior that people have successfully trained them to do consistently.

• False

• True

However, a small percent of animals have gone from responding to dangers to perceiving signs of a danger ahead of time. No one knows how they do this because the signs are invisible to people. No human being can look at the sea and immediately tell that a tsunami is coming, but an elephant immediately knows this just by being nearby. Animals are able to detect the sudden changes in the environment which could be the signs of impending danger.

6-What can be inferred about animals that perceive danger ahead of time?

• A. They have a special sense that humans lack, allowing them to detect environmental changes.

• B. They are trained by humans to recognize signs of natural disasters.

• C. They respond to dangers only after they occur.

• D. They use visual cues that are easily noticeable to people.

Another story I remember is about Clever Hans. Hans was the world-famous German horse in the early 1900s whose owner, Wilhelm von Osten, thought he could count. Herr von Osten could ask the horse questions like, “What’s seven and five?” and Hans would tap out the number twelve with his hoof. Hans could even tap out answers to questions like, “If the eighth day of the month comes on Tuesday, what is the date for the following Friday?” He could answer mathematical questions posed to him by complete strangers, too.

What can be inferred about Clever Hans based on the story?

• A. Clever Hans’s abilities seemed remarkable because he could answer questions from strangers.

• B. Clever Hans was likely trained to perform simple mathematical calculations.

• C. Clever Hans’s owner taught him complex mathematical reasoning skills.

• D. Clever Hans communicated with his owner through verbal language.

Eventually, a psychologist named Oskar Pfungst managed to show that Hans wasn’t really counting. Apparently, Hans was observing subtle, unconscious cues the humans had no idea they were giving off. He’d start tapping his foot when he could see it was time to start tapping. Then he’d stop tapping his foot when he could see it was time to stop tapping. His questioners were making tiny, unconscious movements only Hans could see. The movements were so tiny the humans making them couldn’t even feel them.

8-What did Oskar Pfungst discover about Hans’s ability to answer questions?

• Hans was genuinely counting numbers.

• Hans learned mathematics through repetitive training.

• Hans was responding to unconscious cues given by humans.

• Hans answered questions by listening to human speech patterns.

What makes Hans similar to Ning Nong is that both Hans and Ning Nong acquired their skills without human help. As I mentioned, to my knowledge, so far no one has figured out how to take a “raw” elephant and teach it how to predict tsunamis. About the best a trainer can do is reward the animals for helping when there is danger and then leave it up to the animals to start identifying signs that predict the onset of danger on their own.

9.What is the key similarity between Hans and Ning Nong, according to the passage?

• Both animals acquired their skills without direct human training.

• Both animals acquired their skills without direct human training.

• Both animals were rewarded for helping during dangerous situations.

What makes Hans similar to Ning Nong is that both Hans and Ning Nong acquired their skills without human help. As I mentioned, to my knowledge, so far no one has figured out how to take a “raw” elephant and teach it how to predict tsunamis. About the best a trainer can do is reward the animals for helping when there is danger and then leave it up to the animals to start identifying signs that predict the onset of danger on their own.

10.According to the passage, what is the best a trainer can do when working with animals like Ning Nong?

• Teach them specific techniques to predict natural disasters.

• Use repetitive training sessions to enhance their instinctive skills.

• Reward them for helping during dangerous situations and let them learn to identify danger signs on their own.

• Provide constant guidance and cues during dangerous situations.