"I write this post with a clear but demanding purpose. I aim to apply insights from animal behavior research to gain a deeper understanding of how humans behave, struggle, and adapt. As a clinical psychologist, much of my work centers on two closely related questions. Why do people do what they do? And why is changing what does not work for them so often more difficult than it appears?"
"Because this approach draws heavily on both human and nonhuman research, it may initially appear to have a narrow focus on environmental influences and behavior. That impression misses the deeper point. When we seriously compare how humans and nonhuman animals function, we move well beyond surface explanations and into questions about meaning, purpose, and psychological cost (Marston, GoPaul, and Maple, 2024). One of the most important differences between humans and other animals lies in our relationship with language and what language allows us to do."
Humans generalize far more than is psychologically useful and healthy. Verbal language enables symbolic grouping, naming, comparison, and talking about future outcomes, creating powerful cognitive abilities and potential liabilities. Animals often move on from events because they lack the verbal propensity to overgeneralize, illustrating alternative adaptive strategies for coping and adaptation. Comparative analysis of human and nonhuman behavior illuminates meaning, purpose, and psychological costs beyond surface-level environmental explanations. The central difference between humans and other animals is the capacity for language and its role in shaping how experiences are interpreted and acted upon. Recognizing language-driven overgeneralization supports healthier psychological functioning.
#language-and-cognition #generalization #comparative-psychology #animal-behavior #psychological-health
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]