However, studies have shown that certain animals, like apes, have the capacity for theory of mind. Theory of mind is when an individual can recognize that their thoughts are their own, and what they know, others might not know (Premack & Woodruff, 1978). In the study by Premack and Woodruff, chimpanzees were presented with different situations in which a human was struggling with different things. For example, in one situation, the human was trying to get a banana that was out of their reach, in another example; the human was shivering because they were cold. The chimpanzees were given a bunch of pictures with possible solutions on them. The chimpanzees chose the correct photo more often than not, which demonstrated that they are able to understand the human’s purpose, the problem and the solution to that problem (Premack & Woodruff,
However, studies have shown that certain animals, like apes, have the capacity for theory of mind. Theory of mind is when an individual can recognize that their thoughts are their own, and what they know, others might not know (Premack & Woodruff, 1978). In the study by Premack and Woodruff, chimpanzees were presented with different situations in which a human was struggling with different things. For example, in one situation, the human was trying to get a banana that was out of their reach, in another example; the human was shivering because they were cold. The chimpanzees were given a bunch of pictures with possible solutions on them. The chimpanzees chose the correct photo more often than not, which demonstrated that they are able to understand the human’s purpose, the problem and the solution to that problem (Premack & Woodruff,