In reading our textbook I have found many indications and guidance in moving forward with the Psychology of learning course. As we start in the beginning to carve it out as a discipline of learning thru our environment and the need to change it to suit our developmental needs still, I see what nature and its beauty have given us to be respectful as such. Taken from our book “Introduction to learning and Behavior” Chapter 13, page 490, Comparative cognition, is the study of information processing across a variety of species, including humans.” Comparative Cognition as noted in chapter 1 and has become increasingly popular research amongst many behaviorists these days that have included such topics as memory, categorization, decision making, problem solving, and even complex processes like language use and deception.
I find this very interesting and helpful as I feel that all of our environment is essential to the process and learning on a holistic approach including all species that we share this planet with. We tend to put ourselves on top of the food chain and possess language and communication skills that at times are a fallacy as a superior belief of Humankind being above all else. If we were to analyze this and compare it to other “Sub” species who are born and have all of the survival skills needed to be genetically fit to live and thrive in an alien environment such as the Alligator Snapping turtle who has more than enough pre-programmed genetic information to lead a full life ranging up to two hundred years of living without needing to be reared by parents such as humans for many years, including being fed, clothed, and looked after and not taking from the environment such as we do.
In summary, and for unknown reasons, how did Humankind get to this status? For example, what if the dinosaurs had never died out and we had to live side by side with them another few million years what would have been the faith of us then? Would we have been able to change our environment to suite our needs, and how could we have done this with reptiles that were hatched from eggs and needed no other rearing skills to survive in an existence in which we were food to them? Their hunting and survival skills in relation the environment in which they existed was far more superior than ours and they would have been on top of the food chain. As always, I welcome any rebuttal to this and am always open to criticism in regard to my speculative and rhetorical approach, it’s all in fun and thoughts that we as “Humans” see ourselves as the center of the universe, perhaps one day soon this misconception may be challenged by another life-force? I guess only time will tell.
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