Mary Bates, PhD

View Original

New on Animal Minds: Theory of Mind in a Bird?

By Hans-Jörg Hellwig (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsEvery day we infer mental events from the behavior of others. We assume other people have minds and mental experiences that resemble our own and we use our understanding of mental processes to try to predict their behavior. This is known as having a theory of mind.In a new experiment, Eurasian jays pass a test of theory of mind, showing they understand that other birds have different desires and beliefs. Based on what they'd observed, male jays knew what food their mates would want. Read the whole story! Jays Know What a Girl (Jay) Wants