Question

From an evolutionary perspective, why is the conscious awareness of ongoing sensations advantageous for animals? a. It provides the opportunity to choose responses rather than to respond instinctively. b. It facilitates the development of complex motor and sensory control. c. It allows animals to respond instinctively to oncoming threats. d. It enables animals to have a sense of mortality and a strong will to pass on their genes.

Answer 1

The correct answer is: c. It allows animals to respond instinctively to oncoming threats.

Step-by-step explanation:

• Animals always remain aware of all the sensations that take place in its environment.
• This is because when awake, all the sense organs of the organism remain active. But it is possible that some of the organs are more active than the other.
• Under normal condition, animals sense all the events happening in the surrounding environment but decide and respond to those which they think to be necessary for them.
• But the adaptation of the characteristics of conscious awareness of the surroundings is of particular advantage under the conditions of threat.
• Under the conditions of threat, animals do not get the time to choose and decide whether to respond or not. They always have to give a response instinctively in order to evade the threat.
• This instinctive reaction of what exactly is required to be done in case of a threat is acquired due to the adaptation of the capability to remain aware of the ongoing sensations.