Homo Sapiens v. Other Species: Is there a Fundamental Difference?

          Homo sapiens are thought of as a unique species on earth. Several of the fundamental aspects are very similar for humans and other species, such as the ability to have behavior conditioned and several behavior motivating factors. In other areas, however, humans are unique to other species.

Conditioning

            Another behavior aspect that humans and animals have in common is the ability to be easily conditioned. As demonstrated by psychologist Ivan Pavlov and his dogs, animals can be classically conditioned to various stimuli. This is very similar to the way that humans, after being burned by hot shower water, can be classically conditioned to quickly maneuver away from shower needles after a nearby toilet is flushed. Operant conditioning, or making a certain behavior more or less probable using punishment or reinforcement, has been observed for both humans and animals. An individual who teaches a new trick to their dog by reinforcing the desired behavior with treats is engaging in operant conditioning. Similarly, the 4^th grade teacher who gives out gold stars to students who score A’s is using operant conditioning to raise student grades.

Hierarchy of Needs

Human behavior and that of other animals are similar in many ways.  Psychologist Abraham Maslow attempted to describe animal and human behavior in a paper entitled, A Theory of Human Motvation. Maslow describes how in both humans and animals, certain needs and drives have precedence over others, depending on recently they have been satisfied as well as importance to well being. His ordering of the needs in terms of relative precedence is now called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Of the drives and needs described by Maslow, physiological drives precede all others. Both humans and animals experience what is called homeostasis, where physiological drives such as air, food, or water provoke behavior that will satisfy the need, thus temporarily allowing the individual to focus its attention elsewhere. Until the physiological drive is reduced, however, it will preoccupy the individual. If there is prolonged deprivation, the individual will experience pain. This serves as evidence that physiological drives can be an exclusive behavior organizer for both humans and animals.  One distinction worth noting, however, is that delayed gratification plays an important role in influencing human behavior. Because of this, humans are able to escape pure physiological behavior domination to achieve more socially oriented goals – something animals do not generally engage in.

Following physiological drives in Maslow’s hierarchy is safety needs. Just like physiological drives, safety needs can be an exclusive behavior organizer for humans and animals.  While this can be easily observed watching certain animal behavior, safety need-reducing behavior by humans is less commonly observed in society. Cases where this concept is illustrated include emergency situations, individuals with neurosis (excessive and irrational anxiety), and in infants (observed when an infant starts crying due to a perceived threat). For both humans and animals, an absence of safety-need fulfillment is felt as fear. An important factor, exclusively for humans in this case, is the role of culture. Because premature human deaths are seen as sub-optimal for society, human culture aims to collectively reduce societal safety needs. The impact of such is an enormous reduction of the possibility that safety needs are left unsatisfied.  Some even argue that this desire to reduce societal safety needs is the driving force behind such fields as science, philosophy, and religion that aim to increase prosperity.

            Once physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, one’s attention may be refocused to the next highest need in the hierarchy – love and belongingness needs. For both humans and animals, negative emotions are generally experienced during isolation. John Burkitt this calls a “reaction to potential social contact.” He goes on to say that tigers have been observed playing in neutral territorial zones and engaging in other activities that suggest social stimulation. Just as humans do in the absence of friends, love, or children, isolated tigers display apparent grief symptoms, such as loss of appetite.

            After love and belongingness needs in the hierarchy is esteem needs. Some might argue that humans and not animals exclusively experience esteem needs. Burkitt argues that esteem needs, though less obvious, may be observed in tiger behavior. He says that degree of influence in one’s environment is a direct indicator of one’s esteem, since tigers self-sort according to dominant/submissive relationships. They then respond to challenges according to confidence level. For both humans and animals, fulfillment of esteem needs results in feelings of self-worth and confidence and failure to meet these needs results in discouragement or in some cases neurosis.

            Even deeper in the hierarchy lies the need for self-actualization, or reaching one’s full potential. Even though there may be a few exceptions and exclusive factors, the first four needs described by Maslow are experienced by humans and animals. This drive, on the other hand, is one exclusively experienced by humans. Assuming that more urgent drives have been satisfied, an individual will develop a need to be all that he can be. In A Theory of Human Motivation, Maslow describes this concept with the following phrase, “What a man can be, he must be,”(Maslow 383).

            In conclusion, whether humans are fundamentally different from other species is dependent on which fundamental aspect being examined. Those aspects most important to survival of a species, such as physiological drives and safety needs are generally more similar between humans and animals. The aspects more relevant to cognition and other unique human capabilities, such as the need for self-actualization, generally have a larger distinction between humans and other species.