The next time Michael Vick calls you "chicken" -- take it as a compliment ... because dude believes they're "uncanny" thinkers and even more spectacular athletes. Seriously.

PETA just released the handwritten answers Vick gave to a "Developing Empathy" test he took just after he pled guilty to dogfighting charges in 2007 -- and he scored a whopping 73.5 out of 100 ... that's about a "C."

Among the highlights, Vick explains "The Golden Rule" as doing "on to others as u want them to do on to u .... (as long the feeling is mutual)." But that's only the beginning -- check out some unedited highlights:



"People who abuse animals dont [sic] have a heart and find it amusing to see animals suffer."