Every living organism, including humans and other great apes, showcases remarkable variations when compared to those within their surroundings. Simultaneously, we also share certain characteristics with our immediate family, cousins, and even our more distantly related biological relatives. Comparative psychologists are interested in understanding what specific cognitive (i.e. “mental”) capacities of great apes vary between individuals, and between species, including in comparison with humans. Humans around the world can benefit from reflecting on the continuity and diversity of patterns we find across the tree of life. 

In this lesson, students will explore two different yet thematically related data sets at a level suitable to their prior knowledge and aims regarding depth of learning in either primatology and/or data science. Novice learners with no background can productively explore pre-made workflows to explore aspects of the data and analysis. While more expert students may wish to use the tools of Orange data mining to more flexibly explore and analyze these findings.