Animals think for themselves | Psychology of today

When we imagine an animal kingdom, we often imagine the heart of a nest at work. The waves of birds twisting in sync, fish schools dance together like living liquids, swarms running as one. These scenes are visually surprising and promote familiar stories. Animals follow the group. It’s a story we hear frequently, so it bleeds at how we think about ourselves. If animals move as one because biology directs them, we may be stuck with it too. Perhaps we are at the mercy of our instincts.

But that’s not how nature works.

The idea that biology is destiny has long been exaggerated. Especially in the fields Psychiatry And the concept of mental health, how we feel and behave is almost entirely a matter of what we do. Genetics Or chemical imbalances. The solution is said to be to modify biology. The problem is that this is always overlooking some animal.

A recent article by Jolles and colleagues, “The role of individual heterogeneity in collective animal behavior,” Ecology and evolutionary trendspresents a more subtle view of nature. The authors show that individual animals routinely make decisions to diverge from the herd, even in tightly coordinated groups. These decisions reflect meaningful differences between individuals rather than just random noise. personalityexperience, motivationand is necessary.

For example, some fish in schools can break if they see better foraging opportunities. Certain birds may challenge the direction of flight of the group as they recall more successful routes. And in many social mammals, it is dominant Assertive Individuals often take initiatives regardless of what the rest of the group is doing. These actions are not a system defect. These are characteristics of a flexible and responsive approach to survival.

This insight should resonate with us. We are animals too, and we face the same tension as what others do and choosing our own path. In fact, the ability to socially, emotionally and behaviorally separate from the group is often essential to psychological health.

Still, it is always said that we are instincts in charge. When we are afraid, we are supposed to fight, run away, and freeze. When we’re mad, we’re told it’s in our wiring. When we are overwhelmed, biology takes responsibility. However, as an article by Jolles et al. Even non-human animals show that they do not blindly follow these impulses. They act according to the context. They rate, choose, adjust.

This is how social evolution looks like. This is learning to respond to flexible, changing environments, not just fixed biological responses. That’s why you can grow up in an angry family, but still choose to deal with your frustration with patience. That’s why people surrounded by chaos can still carve out spaces of peace. That’s what humans can say, like other animals, “All of these options are bad, but I can choose the worst.” It may not be an uplifting, but it empowers. That means we are not trapped.

Even our emotions, often labelled as disorders and symptoms, are tools for adaptation. Grief helps us to slow down and reflect. Anxious warns us to take risks. Guilt It can help with course corrections. When these emotions become overwhelming, they can certainly be painful. But the idea that they must be eradicated – chemically restrained until we no longer feel them – is deeply misleading. The real goal is not to silence your emotions, but to understand and use them to navigate complex situations.

We don’t look to autoresponders, just as animals within a group don’t always move to lockstep. Even in high-stakes situations where our biology might scream for us to run and go wild, we have the ability to pause, evaluate, and make choices. That doesn’t mean that we always make the best choice. But that means the choice is ours.

This idea goes against much of what modern psychiatry promotes. A focus on diagnostic labels and biological treatments could mean a machine defective in a machine that requires biochemical repair. But the Animal Kingdom reminds us of something simpler and deeper. Creatures adapt. They find a new pass. They’re not always Fitsand they don’t always collapse under pressure.

And that includes us.

So, when someone next suggests that you are stuck like you that your actions, your feelings, or your decisions are hardwired and unchanging, it may be worth remembering that fish leaving school pursue a better diet, or birds setting a new direction. Nature is full of independent actors, and even against grain, they take risks and make changes.

Biology is important. Genetics shape us. But they don’t direct any movements for us. Nature is not a strict set of rules, but a living demonstration of flexibility, agency and choice. Animals do not always follow the group. And we don’t need to do that either.

We are not at the mercy of what the world throws at us. You can select the response method.