How exactly do scientists measure this intelligence across different species? What methods, tests, or observations do researchers use to assess the cognitive abilities of animals? And especially I am curious about how do they range animals according to their IQ level? How can one compare raccoons (with their physical ability to do something using their fingers) and, for example, pigs?
In: Planetary Science
A lot of the tests used to measure animal intelligence are adapted from those used to measure the intelligence of human children. For example, the mirror test can determine whether an animal has sufficient self-understanding to grasp whether their reflection is a representation of themselves. Puzzles can be constructed to see if the animals can figure out how to solve them. These same tests have been used on children to see when various mental faculties develop as they age, which is why you’ll often see studies saying, “This species has a level of intelligence equivalent to a 5-year-old child.”
Of course, the big issue with these tests is that they use the human mind as the baseline because we’re really the only animals that can articulate our inner workings in a way that other humans can understand on a deep level. There can easily be forms of intelligence that we can’t grok because our brains aren’t equipped for them and the animals that exhibit them can’t tell us about them.
Latest Answers