 Emery and Clayton state, “Given how easy it is for us, as humans, to place a human perspective on a problem, it may be an especially important caution when studying the mental lives of animals.”

Documentary film production, a source of education and entertainment popularised by natural history subjects including animal behaviour, became prominent in the later decades of the twentieth century.Natural history films and series, such as David Attenborough’s "Life on Earth" in the 1970’s, BBC's "Planet Earth II" in 2016 and the PBS Nature series by George Page, have contributed to people’s awareness of animal behaviour, creating connection to nature and stimulating engagement in the ecological impact of humans on the planet at a time when more people are living in cities, disconnected from nature.George Page writes of anecdotal cases in "Inside the Animal Mind," of primatologist "Jane Goodall" who cites evidence of emotions and mental states of chimpanzees, who adopt young chimps that are not their own.