Comparative Cognition: Experimental Explorations of Animal Intelligence - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019537780X ISBN 13: 9780195377804

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2009

Synopsis

In 1978, Hulse, Fowler, and Honig published Cognitive Processes in Animal Behavior, an edited volume that was a landmark in the scientific study of animal intelligence. It liberated interest in complex learning and cognition from the grasp of the rigid theoretical structures of behaviorism that had prevailed during the previous four decades, and as a result, the field of comparative cognition was born. At long last, the study of the cognitive capacities of animals other than humans emerged as a worthwhile scientific enterprise. No less rigorous than purely behavioristic investigations, studies of animal intelligence spanned such wide-ranging topics as perception, spatial learning and memory, timing and numerical competence, categorization and conceptualization, problem solving, rule learning, and creativity.

During the ensuing 25 years, the field of comparative cognition has thrived and grown, and public interest in it has risen to unprecedented levels. In their quest to understand the nature and mechanisms of intelligence, researchers have studied animals from bees to chimpanzees. Sessions on comparative cognition have become common at meetings of the major societies for psychology and neuroscience, and in fact, research in comparative cognition has increased so much that a separate society, the Comparative Cognition Society, has been formed to bring it together. This volume celebrates comparative cognition's first quarter century with a state-of-the-art collection of chapters covering the broad realm of the scientific study of animal intelligence. Comparative Cognition will be an invaluable resource for students and professional researchers in all areas of psychology and neuroscience.

About this title

About the Author

Edward A. Wasserman earned his B.A. at UCLA and his Ph.D. at Indiana University. He is now Stuit Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Iowa.

Thomas R. Zentall earned his B.S. degree in psychology, his B.E.E. in Electrical Engineering from Union College in 1963, and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1969. After an appointment at the University of Pittsburgh, he joined the faculty at the University of Kentucky, where he is now Professor of Psychology.

Review

"...an invaluable resource for all working or being interested in the wide field of comparative psychology and neuroscience."--European Journal of Neurology

"Excellent book...Highly recommended."--Choice

"Those who study comparative cognition find themselves in a particularly prosperous time . . . A diversity of available species to study, opportunities for increased national and international collaboration, and technological advances offer us a greater opportunity for data collection and dissemination than at any time in history. The present book attests to how these opportunities can produce compelling research programs that serve as excellent models for the future of comparative cognition." --Michael J. Beran in PsycCRITIQUES

"...an outstanding collection of chapters by an exceptional group of researchers. A unique aspect is the strong reliance on experimental science in each of the research programs. One chapter after another provides a critical analysis of the state of knowledge about a fascinating cognitive ability . . . Everyone interested in the cognitive and intellectual capacities of animals should read this book."--Peter Balsam, Barnard College and Columbia University

"This book is a gem . . . It will be a 'must read' for students and scientists who are curious about the state of the art of the modern science of comparative cognition."--Mark E. Bouton, University of Vermont

". . . sure to become a major landmark in long history of this continually evolving field." --Michael Domjan, University of Texas

"In this collection, Wasserman (psychology, University of Iowa) and Zentall (Psychology University of Kentucky) present reports of studies done on a variety of animals, including pigeons, mice, monkeys and dolphins...While these studies are intended for professionals, the conclusions are clearly stated for anyone interested in the subject." -- Shannon Hendrickson, Editor, Book News Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 019537780X
• ISBN 13: 9780195377804
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 720
• Editor: Wasserman Edward A.