Animal In You

If you have been wondering why some people just can’t learn at once – for instance, not putting the used clothes in the hamper, constantly forgetting the keys, or not unplugging the TV cord after switching off   - we’ll you may have forgotten the fact that man is from one of the only two kingdoms known to biology: kingdom animalia. It means that things have to be repeated more often than necessary or that there must be a different kind of training that resembles good reinforcement for good behavior.

That fact alone tells us a lot about what humans could and could not be. Recent researches and personality tests reveal a great deal about the common instincts relevant to both humans and animals. Yes, scientists and psychologists are seeing the relevance of understanding animal behavior in further understanding the behavior of humans.

In fact, there are now a host of personality tests available over the net that asks about your preferences and usual responses to simulated situations. After answering a few questions, they give you the animal with a behavior that resembles you most nearly.

Worst, I came across a website that asks only two questions: Your first name and your last name. After that, they give you the animal that resembles you. Guess what I got, a shark! I have two names, so I used my second name. Guess what I got, a mouse! Great! Does that mean I’m both a shark and a mouse? Oh, cheeeeezzz!

So, what does that say about our behavior? Most studies imply that although the human mind is capable of exercising its brain with the most complex mind activities, still it has an instinct that is sometimes uncontrolled by the sane mind. These reactions are part of the animal characteristic in humans that have been programmed by culture, upbringing and psychosocial development.

Well, yes, that reason alone may stir a debate, but let’s not forget that we are part of the kingdom animalia. We’re the highest order. Remember?

You may react: What?!

We say, “Yup! You’re an animal.”

You say, “How dare you… What the… !@#!”

We just smile. Nod our head. Not react and not mind you. That’s the way to respond to animal behavior. LRS. Least Reinforcing Syndrome. This is the technique used by dolphin trainers whenever the dolphin does not follow instructions. It’s an effective way to tell them that there are behaviors that may be positively or negatively responded to. Eventually, those actions or behaviors that elicit the least reinforcement slowly fade away.

That’s exactly how the human mind works instinctively. We want assurance and praise as much as we can. So, we generally just want to please others, in the same way that we want to be pleased. When something gets in the way, we react differently because it is not what we expect. Thus, we manifest in anger, frustration, disgust, ranting, or cursing. I hate to say, but it sounds much like an animal.

Some may disagree, though, because humans are the only ‘creatures’ who have the capability to possess an awareness of the self. It is a highly complex mental awareness that is far beyond the capacity of highly trained and domesticated animals.

The theory of evolution by Charles Darwin is a widely accepted teaching and it has become a cornerstone in the study of human development. It is from this accepted view that most social scientists now have started to dissect the very nature of man, before he adapted to his environment and master his surroundings.

It is implied here that man’s behavior is an effect of the constant adaptations to the changes around him. We can’t help but think that man, animals, and plants are descended from closely related organisms thousands of years ago. That because of the need to survive, all creation evolved, biologically and behaviorally, and eventually became the diversity that it is now.

Hans Hass in his book, THE HUMAN ANIMAL (The Mystery of Man’s Behavior), posits, after establishing the origins of man and animals, that it is logical to see man’s behavior in the light of the animal descent, from the modest beginnings of a long chain rather than from its final link. He says that linking human behavior to its animal past can help ascertain the nature of man’s peculiarity, his ‘differentness’.

Social scientists are now seeing the relevance of using animal behavior as a framework to help understand and interpret the human society and the social problems that exist as a result of human interaction with its environment. This is perhaps the grounds of many personality tests that correlate you to the animal you most resemble.

This interests us so much because apart from the fact that our origin remains only a theory up to this point (we can only theorize vicariously. J), we can still not fathom the fullness of human existence, however advanced our technology may be. Understanding our boss, clients, colleagues, or even mates is like taming the wild, no offense, though. J

So, I guess that we just have to remember that each of us is uniquely evolved; that in the light of fulfilling human potential, we have gone far, even farther, that what is expected of animal mutation. Our rational thinking delineates us from the rest that it allows us to confound researches.

We may resemble animals in some ways, but we are not confined to living and acting like them. Understanding our commonalities with them, though, will help us become enlightened with how we ought to interact with things and people around us. They are in the same ‘evolution’ and ‘mutation’ process as we do. It will help us to become open to objective criticism and respond positively so that we may evolve more humanely.

After all, the bottom line of the evolution process is that we either evolve or die. We’d rather evolve more highly and more intricately, won’t we?  Degeneration is definitely out of the question if we wish to become better.

So, friends, you may seem like a badger, but you’re not a badger. Get it? (Double wink!)

~~~~~

By: Pauline Anne B. Ferrero
Date: January 26, 2010

Tags: animal in you, ArtFashionsita, Fashion, fashionista, fashionistas, personality, personality test