INTENDED AUDIENCE

By approaching this book with an eye toward encouraging readers to think critically about animal headlines they might see in the media, our goal is to challenge myths and preconceived notions. We accomplish this partly by including explanations of the scientific method, the perils of anthropomorphism, and the importance of distinguishing between correlation and causation. This orientation makes Animal Cognition 101 a fantastic introductory read for anyone who is interested in learning the science behind animal cognition. Further, the inclusion of methods makes the book a useful supplement for advanced high school psychology as well as lower-division undergraduate courses. College professors teaching cognitive psychology, for example, may find it particularly helpful as a complement to their human cognitive texts.

As researchers, both of us have been heavily trained in biology and evolutionary theory. This means if someone asked us to name the “smartest” animal, our response would be, “It depends. How are you measuring ‘smart’?” By this, we mean that it’s important to evaluate animals’ cognitive abilities within the context of the species being tested and the methods being used. Furthermore, the field of animal cognition overlaps with wide-reaching disciplines, including ethology (the study of how animals interact with and in their environment), evolutionary biology, and sociobiology (biological foundations for social behavior). Our backgrounds in evolutionary theory, as well as the interdisciplinary nature of the field, make Animal Cognition 101 an appropriate supplementary text for a number of biology courses.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

One theme that we intentionally wove throughout the book is the importance of knowing a species’ natural history before making assumptions or drawing conclusions about an animal’s behavior. This means learning as much as possible about its biology, social organization, habitat, diet, predators, and other factors that might contribute to why a species might—from an evolutionary stance—have a particular cognitive ability. This helps draw better and more informed conclusions about data and avoids the trap of human bias. For example, one bias many people hold is that a bigger brain or a mammal brain or an insert-cute-animal-you-spend-a-lot-of-time-with brain means “more cognitive.” As a result, people tend to write off fish as much less cognitive than what science has actually revealed. Considering there are more fish kept as pets than any other animal and the fact that we farm them by the billions as a food source, there’s plenty of reasons to take the time to learn about their amazing cognitive abilities. To this end, you’ll find that the collection of research findings in this book reflects a breadth of diversity, from insects to fish, to showcase more than just the charismatic megafauna we’re most familiar with.

All seven content chapters include an “Animal Spotlight” and “Human Application” section. The Animal Spotlights highlight individual animals that have made significant contributions to an area relevant to the content discussed in each chapter. You may have heard of many of these animals. They are the “rock stars” of animal cognition, the ones who have made guest appearances on late-night television and got to hang out with well-known public figures like Mr. Rogers. The Human Application sections serve as a reminder that even though we use the word “animal” to imply “nonhuman animal” in this book, in reality, humans are animals, too. What we discuss in this book applies directly to human life. We’ll use these Human Application sections to connect topics in animal cognition to human behavior and cognition and see how you can apply what you’ve learned to make a real difference in your own life.

Learning happens best when it is immersive and dynamic. At the ends of Chapters 2 through 7, you’ll find an idea for how you can assume the role of a scientist and conduct some animal-friendly research of your own. These experiential ministudies are designed to be an extension of the content in each chapter and are a reflection of our desire to get readers excited about the science of animal cognition. Keeping in mind that not everyone has an animal in their home, access to nature parks, or readily available research materials, we developed the procedures to be as flexible and inclusive as possible for all readers. We hope that by both reading and doing, you’ll gain a well-rounded introduction to the field of animal cognition.

CONTENTS

Before we get started, a few definitions are in order. The first has to do with the name of this book. Depending upon someone’s training, focus, or generation, you may notice that the name for our field varies. Originally, it was pioneered as comparative psychology (“comparative” being in reference to humans), and those who later honed in specifically on cognitive abilities rather than sensory systems, for example, referred to the field as comparative cognition. Still, in other circles, the word “comparative” is dropped, and the study of animals’ cognitive abilities is simply called “animal cognition.” For the purposes of this book, we’ll be using “animal cognition.”

When we say an animal is cognitive, or engaging in cognition, what does that mean? Intelligence might seem to suffice, but the study of animal intelligence is actually a subcategory of animal cognition research. Throughout the book, when we say “cognition,” we’ll have renowned animal cognition researcher Sara Shettleworth’s (2001) definition in mind. According to her, cognition is “all ways in which animals take in information through the senses, process, retain and decide to act on it” (p. 277). An animal who is behaving cognitively, therefore, is one who is not behaving instinctually in its environment. A cognitive animal dynamically communicates, thinks, reflects, reacts, and is aware. While cognition inevitably manifests differently from species to species, there is a common underlying set of processes that are inherently active.

Animal Cognition 101 is divided into one history chapter, one theories and methods chapter, five topical chapters, and a final chapter on future directions. Each topical chapter addresses an overarching area of research in animal cognition, which we discuss across multiple species. In addition, we pay special attention to describing the different ways that researchers set up their studies to arrive at their conclusions. As is the general practice in the field, we’ll be using the term “animal” to mean “nonhuman animal,” and scientific names for species will be given the first time they are mentioned.

Chapter 1, Historical Perspective on Animal Cognition, is what a professor once called “ancestor worship.” When did we decide to formally study how animals think, and how did we go about doing it? The chapter addresses some of the initial challenges the field faced, of which there were many, and some which remain unresolved to this day. The animal profiled is Kanzi the bonobo (Pan paniscus), perhaps one of the most well-known and groundbreaking animals in the history of animal cognition. To pay homage to Charles Darwin’s idea that we can learn about ourselves by studying other animals, the Human Application section explores animals’ involvement in biomedical research.

Within Chapter 1, we also take time to highlight two of the field’s unsung heroes, Margaret Floy Washburn and Charles Henry Turner. Due to misogyny and racism, opportunities for both of these pioneers were limited, and yet they went on to be more prolific than many of their better-known white male counterparts. By sharing their stories, we hope to communicate two major ideas. First, science, for all its objectivity and quest for truth, does not operate on a meritocracy. Instead, the social climate largely dictates whose voices are heard and, therefore, who gets to contribute to what is known about how the world works. Second, for every one Turner and one Washburn, there are countless others who were and are unable to pursue their passion for science. Given Turner’s and Washburn’s enormous contributions to animal cognition, how might greater equity and inclusion at the turn of the 20th century have transformed the directions of the field? While we will never know, as you read this book, we ask that you keep this question in the back (or forefront) of your mind.

With all the Internet videos out there boasting everything from sledding crows to genius lizards, it was important to us to present a scientific representation of animals’ cognitive abilities. For this reason, Chapter 2, Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Animal Cognition, will orient you to what makes studying animal cognition a science (rather than a hobby), the major research designs researchers use, where research is conducted, how to think critically about intelligent animal videos that seem too good to be true, as well as what it means to collect data and how. Chapter 2 also spends a lot of time addressing the roles of anecdotes and anthropomorphism, neither of which are scientific, but which are relevant to animal cognition work. To illustrate both of these phenomena, a horse (Equus caballus) by the name of Clever Hans is the subject of the chapter’s Animal Spotlight. Clever Hans seemed to many researchers—and for quite some time—to be able to count and do mathematics. The Human Application section in this chapter touches on the question of why we humans should care about animal cognition. It provides a brief introduction to tools used by evolutionary biologists¹ to determine how distantly related species are from one another and from humans. Using that information can inform us about how studying animal minds can teach us about the uniqueness—or lack thereof—of many human cognitive abilities.

Following the chapters on history and methodology, our goal is for readers to be prepared to read and evaluate the research findings of five major areas of animal cognition. The five topical chapters are designed to promote critical thinking by giving a background in relevant terms, methodology, ways to interpret results, and controversies. For example, the main test for self-awareness, the mirror test, has been passed by ants but not parrots, which are renowned for their intelligence. We intentionally included surprising findings such as these throughout the book in an effort to challenge assumptions and biases readers might have about cognition in the animal kingdom. To that end, it was important to us as authors to not cherry-pick research findings that fit expectations, and to illustrate the gray areas in the field. Even in an introductory book, knowing the history, the controversies, and the criticisms are key to understanding the field.

Chapter 3, Consciousness in Animals, jumps right into the hotly debated area of animal consciousness. We take an in-depth look at how philosophers and scientists have defined consciousness, specific cognitive abilities that might signal consciousness, and which animals can be said to have them, or a version of them. The main topics covered include theory of mind, self-awareness, and emotions. Happy, the first elephant (Elephas maximus) documented to behave as if she recognized herself in a mirror, as well as the important implications of this finding, is the subject of the Animal Spotlight. The Human Application section will walk you through how theory of mind develops in children and the ways developmental psychologists can determine whether a child has mastered it.

Chapter 4, Communication Between Animals, focuses on communication, a topic that those who follow animal cognition research may be already familiar with. It addresses many different ways that animals communicate with each other, including vocal, gestural, and olfactory. Chapter 4 also distinguishes between research aimed at learning about animals’ natural communication systems and humans’ attempts to teach language-based communication systems to animals. The animals profiled here are a pair of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Phoenix and Akeakamai, who participated in some of the first and most thorough studies of linguistic abilities in marine mammals. To show how vital language exposure is for children to develop it themselves, the Human Application chronicles the case study of Genie, a young girl who was found to have been deprived of almost all language exposure for her first 13 years of life.

Social cognition is featured in Chapter 5, Social Cognition in Animals. Social cognition involves the many complex ways in which animals engage socially among themselves. From imitation to cultural traditions passed down from generation to generation, there are many examples of how animals learn from one another. Chapter 5 also discusses empathy and social referencing, both of which play a part in an animal’s ability to understand its place in a social group or situation. In the Animal Spotlight, we highlight Imo the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata). Imo’s unique innovation to clean and season her food spread like wildfire throughout her group in a classic example of cultural transmission of behavior. The Human Application section introduces operant conditioning, a fundamental way organisms learn, to explain TAGteach, a popular movement that uses a “tag” in the form of a click or other sound to mark correct behavior. This method has been extremely successful in a variety of unexpected human-learning settings.

Chapter 6, Cognitive Flexibility in Animals, addresses the overall flexibility of the animal mind. For centuries, there have been those who believe animals are mindless behaving machines. You probably do not think that, or you would not be reading this book, but where is the line between instinct and cognitive behavior? Do animals plan out their actions in advance, play, and create? One creative crow (Corvus moneduloides) named Betty, and her remarkable ability to problem solve and use tools, is featured in the Animal Spotlight. In the Human Application section, we’ll tackle the difficult question of how to measure creativity in humans and offer tips for how you can find and increase creativity and innovation in your own life.

Finally, Chapter 7, Individual Differences Between Animals, reminds us that despite the fact that research findings teach us what species on the whole can do, not all animals within a species are the same; individual differences exist. Using constructs like personality, emotional well-being, and intelligence, Chapter 7 explains how researchers account for and measure dispositional and performance-based differences in animals. Here the spotlight shines on the African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) Alex, a one-of-a-kind individual who remains unparalleled in what he taught us about the abilities of these not-so-bird-brained animals. Personality tests are explored in the Human Application sections. How do the ones you’re doing on social media really measure up to those that have been developed by psychologists?

The final chapter of the book, Chapter 8, Conclusion, brings everything together. Here, we offer the major take-home messages that we hope you’ve learned, as well as a collection of ideas for where the field may be heading as it begins its second century. One of these directions is a new branch of research that asks us to think with greater urgency not just about how humans impact animals’ lives via habitat destruction and climate change, but about how our rapid change on the planet has affected animals’ minds as well.

As you’ll soon discover, it’s not simply enough to be entertained or awestruck by the remarkable feats of the animal mind, though we, like you, are continually amazed. Instead, we ask you to join us on a journey of thinking, reflecting, critiquing, and applying what has been learned so far about cognition in the animal kingdom.

REFERENCE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the editor and publisher—James C. Kaufman and Springer Publishing Company—of the Psych 101 Series for allowing us the privilege of contributing to their informative series. In particular, we are very thankful for the support of Mindy Chen and Rhonda Dearborn at Springer Publishing Company. Lastly, we would like to thank Tim Beyer, Steve Brown, Dominic Byrd, Jen Elwood, Adrian Hatfield, Barbara Lukas, Kristen Magoun, Anna Marchand, Amanda Nasser, Sandhy Reddy, Gwen Remington, Dylan Richmond, May Tang, Genet Tulgetske, Peter Wimberger, and Roberta Wright for their thoughts, support, and cheerleading throughout the publication process.

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