Reprint

Behavioural Methods to Study Cognitive Capacities of Animals

Edited by
April 2024
230 pages
  • ISBN978-3-7258-0799-4 (Hardback)
  • ISBN978-3-7258-0800-7 (PDF)

This is a Reprint of the Special Issue Behavioural Methods to Study Cognitive Capacities of Animals that was published in

Biology & Life Sciences
Summary

Animal cognition is an independent field of interdisciplinary investigation, featuring specialized methodologies and paradigms tailored to diverse animal species. Different approaches can contribute to our understanding of animal behaviour and cognition. For example, automated and observer-independent techniques, which allow for the collection of vast sets of data, or the study of the neurobiological correlates of mental processes, which requires reference to standardized paradigms. These methodologies pose constraints on the complexity and ecological validity of behaviour. On the other hand, more traditional methods are firmly grounded in species ethology, which is considered crucial to grasp the distinctive qualitative features of the behavioural repertoire. Here, we present a collection of contributions employing behavioural methods to investigate the mental abilities of animals or any other behaving organism and to reflect on the big issue of “asking a question” to non-human animals. Altogether, the articles featured in this collection offer a multifaceted picture of current approaches and challenges when dealing with the complex topic of animal behaviour and cognition. The message is that much knowledge on animals’ minds can and should still be gathered through the development of new behavioural and ethical methods, allowing for new insights into the cognitive worlds of animals.

Format
  • Hardback
License and Copyright
© 2024 by the authors; CC BY-NC-ND license
Keywords
domestic dogs; affordances; behavior; body size; size sense; size perception; sense of self; animal cognition; self-representation; inequity aversion; ecological validity; field experiments; loose-string paradigm; partner choice; animal cognition; cooperation; prosociality; instrumental helping; comparative methods; corvid; Corvus corone; Cyanopica cyana; visual illusions; comparative perception; motion illusions; distortion illusions; subjective contours; associative learning; plasticity; evolution; habituation model; kinematics; circumnutation; plant behavior; plant movement; individual lateralization; directional lateralization; cognitive capacity; parallel processing; social behaviour; visual attention; vertebrates; invertebrates; commissures; strength of lateralization; navigation; spatial learning; environmental geometry; geometric components; zebrafish; spontaneous attention; social and non-social visual attention; auditory attention; experimental tests; starlings; Sturnus vulgaris; animal–human communication; interspecies communication; vocal learning; animal cognition; model/rival training; symbolic reference; grey parrots; Ethology; discipline; philosophy of science; Umwelt; networking; welfare; ethics; legal protection; principle of the 3Rs; invasive research ban; primate cognition; scribbles; evolutionary anthropology; art; aesthetics; comparative cognition; sameness; equivalence; transitive inference; justification of effort; gambling; plateau pika; alarm call; acoustic analysis; playback experiment; vigilance response; n/a

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