Bugs Aren't Brainless! | Great Minds: Charles Henry Turner

Charles Henry Turner was a pioneering black entomologist who challenged early 20th-century beliefs about insect cognition. Despite racial barriers, he conducted groundbreaking research on insect perception and learning, demonstrating that insects like bees and cockroaches can learn and make decisions. His work laid the foundation for comparative psychology and continues to influence studies on animal behavior and cognition.

What was the early 20th-century belief about insect behavior?

• Insects were capable of complex thinking.

• Insects were simple machines responding to stimuli.

• Insects could learn and make decisions.

• Insects had no cognitive abilities.

What challenge did Charles Henry Turner face in his academic career?

• Racial discrimination preventing a professorship.

• Inability to publish his research.

• Lack of interest in entomology.

• Limited access to scientific literature.

What did Turner's experiments with honeybees demonstrate?

• Bees are unable to learn from experience.

• Bees use color and pattern information for foraging.

• Bees cannot see colors.

• Bees are attracted to sound.

How did Turner demonstrate Pavlovian conditioning in insects?

• By observing ants' reaction to sugar.

• By teaching cockroaches to seek food.

• By training bees to follow light.

• By using sound to elicit a response in moths.

What was one of Turner's significant contributions to animal behavior studies?

• Developing new species of insects.

• Creating the first insect zoo.

• Employing solid controls in experiments.

• Inventing a new type of microscope.

How many papers did Turner publish during his time at Sumner High?

• 25 papers

• 50 papers

• 15 papers

• 41 papers

What field did Turner's research help establish?

• Astrophysics

• Marine biology

• Molecular biology

• Comparative psychology