Animal cognition
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"How vain the opinion is of some certain people of the East Indies, who think that apes and baboons, which are with them in great numbers, are imbued with understanding, and that they can speak but will not, for fear they should be imployed and set to work."—Antoine Le Grand, c. 1675 |
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Animal cognition is the title given to a modern approach to the mental capacities of non-human animals. It has developed out of comparative psychology, but has also been strongly influenced by the approach of ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology. The alternative name cognitive ethology is therefore sometimes used; and much of what used to be considered under the title of animal intelligence is now thought of under this heading.
In practice, animal cognition mostly concerns mammals, especially primates, cetaceans and elephants, besides canidae, felidae and rodents, but research also extends to non-mammalian vertebrates such as birds such as pigeons, lizards or fish, and even to non-vertebrates (cephalopods).
See also
- Animal consciousness
- Animal culture
- Anthropomorphism
- Dog intelligence
- Pain in invertebrates#Cognitive abilities
- Cetacean intelligence
