6 | P a g e
suggest that the follower ant actually knew the leader was more knowledgeable and not
merely following an instinctive routine itself.
H The controversy went on, and for a good reason. The occurrence of teaching in ants, if
proven to be true, indicates that teaching can evolve in animals with tiny brains. It is
probably the value of information in social animals that determines when teaching will
evolve, rather than the constraints of brain size.
I Bennett Galef Jr., a psychologist who studies animal behaviour and social learning at
McMaster University in Canada
,
maintained that ants were unlikely to have a "theory of
mind”
一
meaning that leaders and followers may well have been following instinctive
routines that were not based on an understanding of what was happening in another ant’s
brain. He warned that scientists may be barking up the wrong tree when they look not
only for examples of humanlike behaviour among other animals but humanlike thinking
that underlies such behaviour. Animals may behave in ways similar to humans without a
similar cognitive system, he said, so the behaviour is not necessarily a good guide into
how humans came to think the way they do.
Questions 1-5 Look at the following statements (Questions 1-5) and the list of people in the box below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A
,
B C orD.
Write the correct letter, A, B
,
C or D, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet
NB You may use any letter more than once.
1. Animals could use objects to locate food.
2. Ants show two-way, interactive teaching behaviours.
3. It is risky to say ants can teach other ants like human beings do,
4. Ant leadership makes finding food faster.