Hey there! I’m Kate from MinuteEarth. Let’s dive into the world of cat memes! This website looks promising with its funny cat pictures, but after a while, it seems like there aren’t many new ones. So, should we stick around or find a new site?
Interestingly, the way we search for information online is similar to how a bird, like a chickadee, searches for food. Just like the bird decides which tree to visit and how long to stay, we decide which website to browse and when to move on. Scientists have created models to explain how animals forage for food, and these models also help us understand how we navigate the web. Both you and the chickadee will stay in one place until you think you can find something better elsewhere. This decision happens subconsciously; you just notice when it’s time to move on.
It’s all about using your time and energy wisely to get the best rewards. Animals and humans do this all the time. For example, chipmunks that travel farther to gather seeds usually bring back more than those that don’t go as far. This makes sense because it’s worth spending more effort if you get a bigger reward. A study in the Netherlands found that burglars who traveled farther for their heists ended up with more valuable loot. Similarly, the longer we search for a romantic partner, the more likely the relationship is to last, suggesting that a bigger investment can lead to a better outcome.
We optimize our decisions like animals because we are animals, and we share similar decision-making processes. Monkeys have special brain cells that track how rewarding a food patch is. When the rewards drop, these cells signal the monkey to move on. Humans have these cells too, and many other animals likely do as well. These cells were crucial for making good food-finding decisions in the past, so they have been passed down through generations. This shared decision-making process helps explain why we behave like our animal relatives.
Nowadays, we often evaluate how rewarding websites are rather than fruit trees. The consequences of spending too much time on memes are much lower than wasting time searching for food. But it’s not just about web surfing. When do you decide to stop watching a boring TV show, leave a long line, or move on from a job or relationship that doesn’t interest you? The same decision-making processes guide us in these everyday situations, just like they guide animals. So, in a way, we’re all a bit bird-brained!
This video was sponsored by the University of Minnesota, where people from all fields are working to tackle big challenges facing society. One of these challenges is helping individuals and communities make good choices in a changing world. Ben Hayden from the Department of Neuroscience studies how our brains evaluate choices, and Dave Stephens from the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior explores how evolutionary forces shape our decision-making. Thanks, University of Minnesota!
Imagine you are a chickadee searching for food, but instead of trees, you’re browsing websites. Create a list of your favorite websites and decide how long you would stay on each one before moving to the next. Discuss with your classmates why you chose to stay longer on some sites and shorter on others. What factors influenced your decisions?
In groups, role-play different scenarios where you need to make a decision about staying or moving on. For example, deciding whether to continue watching a TV show or switching to another. Discuss how your decision-making process is similar to that of animals foraging for food. What signals or cues help you decide?
Research and create a poster about the special brain cells that help animals, including humans, decide when to move on from a food source or activity. Present your findings to the class, explaining how these cells work and why they are important for survival and decision-making.
Create a chart that tracks different activities you do in a day and rate how rewarding each one is. Compare your chart with a classmate’s and discuss why certain activities are more rewarding than others. How does this relate to the concept of optimizing decisions for better rewards?
Participate in a debate about how evolutionary forces shape our decision-making processes. Use examples from the article, such as the chipmunks and burglars, to support your arguments. Consider how these forces might influence modern-day decisions, like choosing a website or a romantic partner.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
—
Hi, this is Kate from MinuteEarth. Let’s find some cat memes! This site looks good – yeah, there are some funny cats and great images on here! But, hmm, not that much… yeah, the options are definitely getting slimmer. Maybe we should try another site? But that means we have to find another site! And we’re already here… so, should we stay or should we go?
Well, it turns out that online, we search for information just as a chickadee searches for fruit; it has to choose which tree to visit and decide how long to stay there before moving on. Ecologists have developed various models to describe how animals forage. One of these models, which explains how animals move between food sources, also predicts how humans navigate websites: both you and the chickadee will stay in one place until the reward rate drops below what you think you could find elsewhere. This calculation is subconscious, of course – you’ll just notice the tree is getting bare and move on.
It’s about spending your time and energy in a way that maximizes your rewards… and that’s something foraging animals – and humans – do all the time. For instance, we’ve found that chipmunks that take longer seed-gathering trips bring back bigger hauls than those that take shorter ones. That makes sense: it’s only worth spending lots of resources if you can score big. A study of more than 400 robberies in the Netherlands found that the farther burglars travel to commit their crimes, the more valuable their loot tends to be. Researchers have even found that the longer we search for a romantic partner, the more likely that relationship is to last; perhaps a bigger investment leads to a better outcome.
We likely optimize like animals because we are animals, and we share critical decision-making circuitry. For instance, monkeys have special neurons that seem to track the reward rate they’re getting in a patch – when it drops too low, the neurons send a signal to the monkey, who switches to a new patch. We also have these neurons – and there’s evidence to suggest that many other animals do too; they were likely so important for making good food-finding decisions in the past that they were passed on over generations. This shared machinery may help explain why we behave like our non-human relatives.
Of course, most of us now find ourselves evaluating how fruitful websites are much more often than how fruitful fruit trees are, and the stakes of wasting time on memes are far lower than wasting time searching for food. But it’s not just web surfing… at what point do you move on from a disappointing TV show, or leave a long line at the DMV, or give up on a job – or even a relationship – that you’re not that into? It turns out that the constraints – and the underlying mechanisms – that guide us in these everyday scenarios are likely the same as those that guide animals… which means that deep down, we’re all a little bird-brained.
This video was sponsored by the University of Minnesota, where students, faculty, and staff across all fields of study are working to solve the Grand Challenges facing society. One of these challenges is enhancing individual and community capacity for a changing world so that we can help people make good choices – like staying healthy – in an ever-changing environment. Ben Hayden, in the Department of Neuroscience, studies the biological mechanisms – like reward-tracking neurons – that we use to evaluate choices. And Dave Stephens, in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, investigates behaviors like foraging from an evolutionary standpoint to help us understand the broad forces that have shaped our decision-making process. Thanks, University of Minnesota!
—
Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Evolution – The process by which different kinds of living organisms develop and change from earlier forms over long periods of time. – Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution explains how species adapt to their environments over many generations.
Decision-making – The cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives. – In psychology class, we learned how decision-making can be influenced by emotions and past experiences.
Animals – Living organisms that feed on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous systems. – Scientists study animals to understand how different species communicate and survive in the wild.
Rewards – Positive reinforcements that encourage a particular behavior or action. – In experiments, researchers often use rewards to train animals to perform specific tasks.
Brain – The organ in the head of an animal that controls thoughts, memory, emotions, and actions. – The human brain is responsible for processing information from our senses and coordinating our movements.
Choices – Decisions made between two or more possibilities. – Making healthy food choices is important for maintaining good physical and mental health.
Foraging – The act of searching for and gathering food resources in the wild. – Many animals, like squirrels, spend a lot of time foraging to find enough food to survive the winter.
Relationships – The connections or interactions between individuals or groups. – In biology, symbiotic relationships between species can be beneficial for both parties involved.
Behavior – The way in which an organism acts in response to a particular situation or stimulus. – Observing animal behavior helps scientists learn how different species adapt to their environments.
Neuroscience – The scientific study of the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. – Neuroscience explores how the brain’s structure and function affect behavior and cognitive processes.
