Animal thinking : contemporary issues in comparative cognition / edited by Randolf Menzel and Julia Fischer.

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Ernst Strüngmann Forum, Corporate Author.

Contributor:

Menzel, Randolf, 1940- editor.

Fischer, Julia, 1966- editor.

Conference Name:

Ernst Strüngmann Forum (8th : 2010 : Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

Ernst Strèungmann Forum (

Series:

Strüngmann Forum reports.

Strüng`mann Forum reports

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cognition in animals--Congresses.

Cognition in animals.

Animal navigation--Congresses.

Animal navigation.

Decision making in animals--Congresses.

Decision making in animals.

Social behavior in animals--Congresses.

Social behavior in animals.

Animal communication--Congresses.

Animal communication.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (355 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2011]

Language Note:

English

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"--MIT CogNet.

Contents:

Contents; The Ernst Strüngmann Forum; List of Contributors; 1 Animal Thinking: An Introduction; Navigation; 2 Navigation and Communication in Honeybees; 3 Navigating in a Three-Dimensional World; 4 Making the Case for the Intelligence of Avian Navigation; 5 Animal Navigation: A Synthesis; Decision Making and Planning; 6 Goal-Directed Behavior and Future Planning in Animals; 7 Mechanisms for Decisions about the Future; 8 Status of Nonhuman Memory Monitoring and Possible Roles in Planning and Decision Making; 9 Planning, Memory, and Decision Making; Communication

10 Where Is the Information in Animal Communication?11 Communication in Social Insects: Sophisticated Problem Solving by Groups of Tiny-Brained Animals; 12 Language and Episodic Sharing; 13 Communication; Knowledge; 14 How Intelligent Is Machiavellian Behavior?; 15 Simple Reactions to Nearby Neighbors and Complex Social Behavior in Primates; 16 Cooperation in Nonhuman Primates: Function and Cognition; 17 How Folk Psychology Ruined Comparative Psychology: And How Scrub Jays Can Save It; 18 Social Knowledge; Acknowledgments; Bibliography; Subject Index

Notes:

"Eighth Ernst Strüngmann Forum held Sep. 26-Oct. 1, 2010, Frankfurt am Main."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

0-262-29898-8

OCLC:

858964625