Animal Thinking

by Menzel, Randolf; Fischer, Julia

• ISBN13: 9780262016636
• ISBN10: 026201663X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-11-04
• Publisher: Mit Pr

Summary

Do animals have cognitive maps? Do they possess knowledge? Do they plan for the future? Do they understand that others have mental lives of their own? This volume provides a state-of-the-art assessment of animal cognition, with experts from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, ecology, and evolutionary biology addressing these questions in an integrative fashion. It summarizes the latest research, identifies areas where consensus has been reached, and takes on current controversies. Over the last thirty years, the field has shifted from the collection of anecdotes and the pursuit of the subjective experience of animals to a rigorous, hypothesis-driven experimental approach. Taking a skeptical stance, this volume stresses the notion that in many cases relatively simple rules may account for rather complex and flexible behaviors. The book critically evaluates current concepts and puts a strong focus on the psychological mechanisms that underpin animal behavior. It offers comparative analyses that reveal common principles as well as adaptations that evolved in particular species in response to specific selective pressures. It assesses experimental approaches to the study of animal navigation, decision making, social cognition, and communication and suggests directions for future research. The book promotes a research program that seeks to understand animals' cognitive abilities and behavioral routines as individuals and as members of social groups.

Table of Contents

The Ernst Strüngmann Forum	p. vii
List of Contributors	p. ix
Animal Thinking: An Introduction	p. 1
Navigation
Navigation and Communication in Honeybees	p. 9
Navigating in a Three-Dimensional World	p. 23
Making the Case for the Intelligence of Avian Navigation	p. 39
Animal Navigation: A Synthesis	p. 51
Decision Making and Planning
Goat-Directed Behavior and Future Planning in Animals	p. 79
Mechanisms for Decisions about the Future	p. 93
Status of Nonhuman Memory Monitoring and Possible Roles in Planning and Decision Making	p. 105
Planning, Memory, and Decision Making	p. 121
Communication
Where Is the Information in Animal Communication?	p. 151
Communication in Social Insects: Sophisticated Problem Solving by Groups of Tiny-Brained Animals	p. 163
Language and Episodic Sharing	p. 175
Communication	p. 187
Knowledge
How Intelligent Is Machiavellian Behavior?	p. 209
Simple Reactions to Nearby Neighbors and Complex Social Behavior in Primates	p. 223
Cooperation in Nonhuman Primates: Function and Cognition	p. 239
How Folk Psychology Ruined Comparative Psychology: And How Scrub Jays Can Save It	p. 253
Social Knowledge	p. 267
Bibliography	p. 293
Subject Index	p. 337
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