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Most people agree that human beings experience various emotions. Anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, shame, and trust are common emotions in most cultures. Human beings take pride in a higher level of intellect and the ability to experience emotion as something that sets them apart from other living organisms. However, many people believe animals experience the same emotions as humans. Regardless, there is much controversy over this issue in the field of psychology. However, when comparing human emotion and animal emotion, one cannot deny the connection and similarity.
Emotion is defined as the “physiological changes and conscious feelings of pleasantness or unpleasantness, aroused by external and internal stimuli, that lead to behavioral reactions” (Davis & Palladino, 2005). There are three parts of this definition to consider.
First, there are physiological changes that occur with emotions and those changes vary with the emotion experienced. “In the scientific as well as the popular literature, certain types of emotion regulation have been implicated in diseases ranging from asthma to cancer to cardiovascular diseases” (Mauss, 2005). Many of us know someone who has been told by a doctor to reduce stress to help with a heart condition, high blood pressure, or other health problem. It is also well known that fear elicits a response from the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system that is commonly referred to as the “fight or flight” response. During this response the pupils dilate, salivation is inhibited, heart rate increases, bronchi relax, stomach activity declines, intestinal activity declines, and the bladder relaxes (Davis & Palladino, 2005). Essentially the body is poised for “fight or flight” which is a natural physiological response to fear, stress, and anxiety. When the emotion subsides the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system kicks in to return the body to a state of balance known as homeostasis (Davis & Palladino, 2005).
Second, each emotion humans experience is aroused by stimuli. Facing immediate danger may arouse fear. Joy may be aroused upon seeing a daughter marry the man of her dreams in a wedding ceremony. Discovering vomit in a public sink may arouse disgust. Some sort of stimulus arouses every emotion we experience.
Third, emotions usually lead to a behavioral reaction. Fear may produce screaming, running, or jumping. Joy often produces smiling, contentment, and exuberant behaviors. Disgust may produce strange vocalizations, recoil, or another emotion such as anger. It is easy to see the various ways that humans express emotions. Now let’s take a look at how animals express the same emotions.
Most people who witness a deer run from a hunter would describe the deer as scared. Likewise, a cat cuddling with her kittens would be described as loving. Two antelope fighting in the fields would be described as exhibiting anger. A pet owner coming home from work would feel the joy as a pet dog jumps up and down with excitement and kisses its master with licks and a wet nose. And who could forget the dog that misses an absent owner as it whines, lies among its owner’s shoes, and looks forlorn? What about the dog that shrinks back in fear when the owner raises a hand or newspaper?
Animal emotions meet the three aspects of Davis & Palladino’s definition of emotions. First, animals experience physiological changes much the same as humans do. “Fight or flight” is what sends animals running or fighting to protect their offspring. Second, animal emotion is aroused by stimuli much the same as human emotion. An owner returning home after work elicits joy, a raised newspaper elicits fear, and a missing owner elicits sadness. Third, animals act out their emotions as a behavior. The happy dog jumps up and down, whining, barking, and sometimes losing bladder control when an owner returns home. The frightened dog runs and hides while whimpering in fear. The dog left home alone tears the trash or toilet paper to shreds and scatters it all over the house while barking relentlessly.
Perhaps one of the most amazing expressions of emotion is that of an elephant remembering a deceased mother. McCarthy (1995) stated, “Elephants are indifferent to the bones of other species, but will stop and even detour to examine the bones of elephants, which they handle and look at carefully. On one occasion, researcher Cynthia Moss had collected elephant bones, which were lying near her camp in Kenya. A troop of elephants came along and examined them, but one young elephant in particular, spent a long time examining a certain jawbone. Eventually lie (sic) moved off to join the rest of the herd. His particular fascination was so marked that Moss checked her records, and discovered that he had been examining the jawbone of his own mother” in a demonstration of animal emotion.
Consider the following article written in the Los Angeles Times (September, 2000) about an expression of monkey emotion. “A troop of furious monkeys in India's northeastern state of Assam brought traffic to a standstill after a baby monkey was hit by a car on a busy street. At least 100 of the animals quickly mobilized in the city of Tezpur and encircled the young injured primate. Rajib Saikia, a government information officer, said, "Its hind legs were crushed and it lay listless on the road." He added, "In no time, more than 100 monkeys descended on the street from all directions and blocked off traffic." The angry monkeys kept traffic at bay for more than a half-hour as they tried to care for the infant. A local shopkeeper said: “It was very emotional... some of them massaged its legs.” Finally, they left the scene carrying the injured baby with them."
Animals are just a tiny step away from human beings on the evolutionary scale. Animals and humans alike experience physiological changes upon experiencing emotion. The “fight or flight” response is apparent in both. Likewise, both animals and humans experience emotion when a stimulus is presented. The emotions generate similar behavior patterns as well. It would be difficult to deny that animals have feelings. Clearly animals express emotions and those emotions meet the definition of emotion described by Davis & Palladino (2005).
The fact that animals and humans often exhibit the same behavior leads one to believe that it is quite normal and even biologically expected, to experience emotions in reaction to stimuli. Why is it, then, that psychopharmaceuticals are so commonly prescribed when people are going though a normal grieving process or fear response? Are we drugging normal human behavior? If so, one has to wonder what effect that will have in the long run, as everyone experiences normal human emotions that lead to normal human behaviors. Where do we draw the line?
References:
Davis, S. & Palladino, J (2005). Psychology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson-Prentice-Hall
McCarthy, Susan (1995). Proceedings of the Internet Roundtable Society: Interview with “When Elephants Weep” author Susan McCarthy. Retrieved from http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/mccarthy.html
Monkey Tragedy (September 22, 2000). The Los Angeles Times
Mauss, Iris, (2005). University of Denver: Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.du.edu/psychology/people/mauss.htm
Emotion is defined as the “physiological changes and conscious feelings of pleasantness or unpleasantness, aroused by external and internal stimuli, that lead to behavioral reactions” (Davis & Palladino, 2005). There are three parts of this definition to consider.
First, there are physiological changes that occur with emotions and those changes vary with the emotion experienced. “In the scientific as well as the popular literature, certain types of emotion regulation have been implicated in diseases ranging from asthma to cancer to cardiovascular diseases” (Mauss, 2005). Many of us know someone who has been told by a doctor to reduce stress to help with a heart condition, high blood pressure, or other health problem. It is also well known that fear elicits a response from the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system that is commonly referred to as the “fight or flight” response. During this response the pupils dilate, salivation is inhibited, heart rate increases, bronchi relax, stomach activity declines, intestinal activity declines, and the bladder relaxes (Davis & Palladino, 2005). Essentially the body is poised for “fight or flight” which is a natural physiological response to fear, stress, and anxiety. When the emotion subsides the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system kicks in to return the body to a state of balance known as homeostasis (Davis & Palladino, 2005).
Second, each emotion humans experience is aroused by stimuli. Facing immediate danger may arouse fear. Joy may be aroused upon seeing a daughter marry the man of her dreams in a wedding ceremony. Discovering vomit in a public sink may arouse disgust. Some sort of stimulus arouses every emotion we experience.
Third, emotions usually lead to a behavioral reaction. Fear may produce screaming, running, or jumping. Joy often produces smiling, contentment, and exuberant behaviors. Disgust may produce strange vocalizations, recoil, or another emotion such as anger. It is easy to see the various ways that humans express emotions. Now let’s take a look at how animals express the same emotions.
Most people who witness a deer run from a hunter would describe the deer as scared. Likewise, a cat cuddling with her kittens would be described as loving. Two antelope fighting in the fields would be described as exhibiting anger. A pet owner coming home from work would feel the joy as a pet dog jumps up and down with excitement and kisses its master with licks and a wet nose. And who could forget the dog that misses an absent owner as it whines, lies among its owner’s shoes, and looks forlorn? What about the dog that shrinks back in fear when the owner raises a hand or newspaper?
Animal emotions meet the three aspects of Davis & Palladino’s definition of emotions. First, animals experience physiological changes much the same as humans do. “Fight or flight” is what sends animals running or fighting to protect their offspring. Second, animal emotion is aroused by stimuli much the same as human emotion. An owner returning home after work elicits joy, a raised newspaper elicits fear, and a missing owner elicits sadness. Third, animals act out their emotions as a behavior. The happy dog jumps up and down, whining, barking, and sometimes losing bladder control when an owner returns home. The frightened dog runs and hides while whimpering in fear. The dog left home alone tears the trash or toilet paper to shreds and scatters it all over the house while barking relentlessly.
Perhaps one of the most amazing expressions of emotion is that of an elephant remembering a deceased mother. McCarthy (1995) stated, “Elephants are indifferent to the bones of other species, but will stop and even detour to examine the bones of elephants, which they handle and look at carefully. On one occasion, researcher Cynthia Moss had collected elephant bones, which were lying near her camp in Kenya. A troop of elephants came along and examined them, but one young elephant in particular, spent a long time examining a certain jawbone. Eventually lie (sic) moved off to join the rest of the herd. His particular fascination was so marked that Moss checked her records, and discovered that he had been examining the jawbone of his own mother” in a demonstration of animal emotion.
Consider the following article written in the Los Angeles Times (September, 2000) about an expression of monkey emotion. “A troop of furious monkeys in India's northeastern state of Assam brought traffic to a standstill after a baby monkey was hit by a car on a busy street. At least 100 of the animals quickly mobilized in the city of Tezpur and encircled the young injured primate. Rajib Saikia, a government information officer, said, "Its hind legs were crushed and it lay listless on the road." He added, "In no time, more than 100 monkeys descended on the street from all directions and blocked off traffic." The angry monkeys kept traffic at bay for more than a half-hour as they tried to care for the infant. A local shopkeeper said: “It was very emotional... some of them massaged its legs.” Finally, they left the scene carrying the injured baby with them."
Animals are just a tiny step away from human beings on the evolutionary scale. Animals and humans alike experience physiological changes upon experiencing emotion. The “fight or flight” response is apparent in both. Likewise, both animals and humans experience emotion when a stimulus is presented. The emotions generate similar behavior patterns as well. It would be difficult to deny that animals have feelings. Clearly animals express emotions and those emotions meet the definition of emotion described by Davis & Palladino (2005).
The fact that animals and humans often exhibit the same behavior leads one to believe that it is quite normal and even biologically expected, to experience emotions in reaction to stimuli. Why is it, then, that psychopharmaceuticals are so commonly prescribed when people are going though a normal grieving process or fear response? Are we drugging normal human behavior? If so, one has to wonder what effect that will have in the long run, as everyone experiences normal human emotions that lead to normal human behaviors. Where do we draw the line?
References:
Davis, S. & Palladino, J (2005). Psychology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson-Prentice-Hall
McCarthy, Susan (1995). Proceedings of the Internet Roundtable Society: Interview with “When Elephants Weep” author Susan McCarthy. Retrieved from http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/mccarthy.html
Monkey Tragedy (September 22, 2000). The Los Angeles Times
Mauss, Iris, (2005). University of Denver: Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.du.edu/psychology/people/mauss.htm
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