If some of us were asked to define the word teaching as it relates to humans and nonhumans, we would most likely come up with two different definitions. Why? Because most of us think that the only form of learning in animals is social learning, where there is no active participation of instructors (Caro & Hauser., 1992). But, does speech or being in a classroom setting necessarily define teaching? And should teaching be defined differently between humans and nonhumans? Certainly not! Caro and Hauser (1992) realized that there was a need to reevaluate the concept of teaching in nonhumans. Teaching does not necessarily require higher mental processes such as intentionality.
Teaching according to Caro and Hauser, is all about the instructor recognizing that there are individuals whose current age or behavior indicates they lack species-specific skills or knowledge and it is necessary for instruction to provide a payoff both to the pupil and indirectly to the instructor. This means that teaching has to have direct benefits not just to the observer, but to the instructor. If that can simplify teaching, then animals are best at it. Let’s take a look at an example of a form of teaching in domestic cats. Adult female cats usually capture, kill and eat a prey in a matter of seconds. After a certain time after parturition (giving birth), however, when kittens start to become mobile and walk out of the nest, mothers alter (change) their behavior and carry prey to their kittens, eating it in front of them instead of consuming it away from the den where they caught it. Next, they carry live prey directly to their offspring and allow them to play with it, but recapture it if it escapes. Finally, they take little part in prey catching at all, merely moving toward prey initially while their young chase, capture and dispatch it efficiently. Mothers give mewing calls to their kittens in all of these situations. This form of teaching in domestic cats is known as opportunity teaching because the offspring (learner in this situation, is provided with opportunities to practice the skills.
Another example of teaching in humans is coaching and in this scenario, the behavior of young is either encouraged or punished by adults. An example of this form of teaching can be found in free-living velvet. There are three main alarm calls in velvet, which are given to particular species within three classes of predators (large cats, raptors, and snakes). It has been observed that when infants, who are still learning the differences in the alarm calls, give an inappropriate alarm call, they are punished by their mothers. The punishment help in the development of proper alarm calls in infants.
I know by now you are saying, well how is that different from social learning? Well, as I mentioned above both instructor and learner have to benefit from it. Once the young ones learn how to catch a prey or emit certain alarm calls, the mother benefits from. From this, we can see that it is not necessary for an instructor to attribute the mental state to others or to be sensitive to the pupil’s changing skills for teaching to occur. Therefore teaching does not require complex mental processes but it can also be favored by nature.
Reference
T.M. Caro, and M. D. Hauser, “Is There Teaching in Nonhuman Animals?,” The Quarterly Review of Biology 67, no. 2 (June., 1992): 151-174. https://doi.org/10.1086/417553
Naydova, M. (2017). Monkeys. [online] Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/mariyajs/monkeys/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2017].
Brittany Simmons
November 9, 2017 — 6:38 pm
Cats can be adorable and seem morbid at the same time haha. This reminded me of my friend’s kitten who used to play with insects, it sort of seemed like he was tormenting them. But thinking back now, he probably learned this sort of thing from his mom and was doing it as practice. It was good practice too. He escaped once and came back later with a bird the same size he was.
Johali Sotelo
November 10, 2017 — 5:12 pm
Very cool to learn about the different methods of learning! I wonder if one method is more efficient that the other? Just as some humans are more visual than auditory learners, perhaps some animals show this sort of behavior too!
Marissa Soto
October 16, 2018 — 4:15 am
I think this topic is very interesting. This is controversial, however, because of the different communicative process in completing the task but the purpose and outcome is all the same.