No. That used to be a common theory, especially when you think of animals like elephants grieving and having funerals. But crows can hold grudges and in studies rats have released their friends from small cages rather than do meth or coke or whichever drug was on offer. Evidence of complex emotion is tricky to quantify but intelligence is a bit easier. Parrots and corvids are incredibly intelligent and have very small brains, I believe the current leading theory links intelligence with number of synapses rather than neurons. (Connections rather than brain cells)
eleanor48 t1_j22xdpy wrote
Reply to Does an animal’s size dictate its ability to have complex emotions? by Throwaway2354o
No. That used to be a common theory, especially when you think of animals like elephants grieving and having funerals. But crows can hold grudges and in studies rats have released their friends from small cages rather than do meth or coke or whichever drug was on offer. Evidence of complex emotion is tricky to quantify but intelligence is a bit easier. Parrots and corvids are incredibly intelligent and have very small brains, I believe the current leading theory links intelligence with number of synapses rather than neurons. (Connections rather than brain cells)