Comparative Vertebrate Cognition

Are Primates Superior to Non-Primates?

By: Lesley J. Rogers (Editor), Gisela Kaplan (Editor)

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Hardcover | 31 December 2003

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408 Pages

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25.4 x 17.78 x 2.39

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This book explores afresh the long-standing interest, and emphasis on, the 'special' capacities of primates. Some of the recent discoveries of the higher cognitive abilities of other mammals and also birds challenge the concept that primates are special and even the view that the cognitive ability of apes is more advanced than that of nonprimate mammals and birds. It is therefore timely to ask whether primates are, in fact, special and to do so from a broad range of perspectives. Divided into five sections this book deals with topics about higher cognition and how it is manifested in different species, and also considers aspects of brain structure that might be associated with complex behavior. It will become apparent to the reader that researchers are only at the beginning of the search to find out whether primates are special and, of course, by 'special' is meant not just different, which applies to all biological categories, but 'better' in the ephemeral sense of being more like us and being cognitively superior to all other species. This volume, voicing the opinions of some leading primatologists, ethologists, psychobiologists, neuroscientists and anthropologists, is not speaking from the standpoint of a political engagement with primates but of a scientific engagement with primates in relation to all other species.

Industry Reviews

From the reviews: "Are primates superior? ! Comparative Vertebrate Cognition aims to answer this question or at least to consider and draw attention to what we know so far and assess the new research directions that are required so that we can answer the question in the future. ! Overall Comparative Vertebrate Cognition is a very enlightening and timely book. It is an interesting and thought-provoking attempt to draw attention to an area that is still in the early stages of its rise to scientific popularity ! ." (Lucy Bates, Primate Eye, February, 2006) "It is high time for primatologists to broaden their horizons in terms of learning about other animals ! . the editors provide a brief history of primatology and lay out their motivation for assembling this book. Rogers and Kaplan suggest that primates have been declared to be 'special' mainly as a political move ! . the book has opened some doors and will certainly promote the exchange of ideas by scholars studying the cognitive abilities of a variety of taxa." (Julia Fischer, Folia Primatologica, Vol. 76 (2), 2006)

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Contributors	p. xv
Complex Cognition
Comparing the Complex Cognition of Birds and Primates	p. 3
Introduction	p. 3
Why Might Primates be Superior to Non-Primates?	p. 4
Comparing Birds and Primates	p. 5
Primates have a Neocortex Larger than Predicted for their Body Size	p. 5
Primates have an Expanded Prefrontal Cortex	p. 8
Primates Demonstrate Social Learning and Imitation	p. 9
Primates Understand Others' Mental States	p. 14
Primates Display Insight, Innovation, and they Construct and Use Tools	p. 23
Insight and Innovation	p. 23
Manufacture and Use of Tools	p. 25
Primates Utilize Symbolic and Referential Communication	p. 27
Primates Demonstrate Elements of Mental Time Travel	p. 29
The Retrospective Component--Episodic Memory	p. 30
Do Animals have Episodic-like Memory?	p. 31
Episodic-like Memory in Scrub-Jays	p. 32
The Prospective Component--Future Planning	p. 33
Is there any Evidence of Future Planning in Animals?	p. 35
Food Caching by Scrub-Jays: A Candidate for Future Planning in Animals?	p. 36
The Perils of Primatocentrism and "Scala Naturae"	p. 36
Uses and Abuses of the Ecological/Ethological Approach to Cognition	p. 38
Species Differences in Ecology and Cognition	p. 39
Ethologically Relevant Stimuli are Difficult to Control	p. 40
How Far can the Natural Behavior of an Animal be Translated to the Laboratory?	p. 41
The Great Divide: Awareness of "Self"	p. 41
Is there a Case for Convergent Cognitive Evolution and Divergent Neurological Evolution?	p. 45
Acknowledgments	p. 46
References	p. 46
Visual Cognition and Representation in Birds and Primates	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
Integration and Interpolation of Visual Information in the Spatial Domain	p. 58
Integration and Interpolation of Visual Information in the Temporal Domain	p. 69
Representing Objects	p. 72
Objects in Space: Use of Geometric and Nongeometric Information	p. 77
Conclusions	p. 84
Acknowledgments	p. 85
References	p. 85
Social Learning
Socially Mediated Learning among Monkeys and Apes: Some Comparative Perspectives	p. 97
Introduction	p. 97
Socially Mediated Learning	p. 98
Imitation	p. 106
Imitation in Monkeys	p. 106
Imitation in Great Apes	p. 110
Primate Imitation in Broader Perspective	p. 115
Culture	p. 118
Behavioral Traditions among Monkeys	p. 119
Behavioral Traditions among the Great Apes	p. 121
Facilitating Influences on Behavioral Traditions among Great Apes	p. 123
References	p. 127
Social Learning, Innovation, and Intelligence in Fish	p. 141
Introduction	p. 141
Traditions and Social Learning in Guppies	p. 144
Innovation in Guppies--Is Necessity the Mother of Invention?	p. 148
Conformity and Social Release	p. 152
Primate Supremacy Reconsidered	p. 156
Conclusions	p. 163
Acknowledgments	p. 164
References	p. 164
Communication
The Primate Isolation Call: A Comparison with Precocial Birds and Non-primate Mammals	p. 171
Introduction	p. 171
The Mammalian Isolation Call	p. 172
The Primate Isolation Call	p. 174
Isolation Call Development	p. 175
A Well-Studied Primate	p. 176
Neurochemical (Pharmacological) Control of Isolation Call Production	p. 177
Neural Mechanisms of Isolation Call Production	p. 177
Neural Mechanisms of Isolation Call Perception	p. 179
Conclusions	p. 181
References	p. 181
Meaningful Communication in Primates, Birds, and Other Animals	p. 189
Introduction	p. 189
Communication from the Point of View of the Receiver	p. 191
Referential Signaling	p. 191
Vocal Signaling in General	p. 191
Motivational versus Referential Signals	p. 192
Attributing Meaning in Alarm and Food Calling	p. 194
Deception in Vocal Signaling	p. 197
Nonvocal Communication	p. 199
Human Language and Animal Studies	p. 201
Co-evolutionary Events	p. 204
Complex Communication, Social Organization, and the Hunt	p. 205
Advantages of Living Together	p. 207
Hierarchy, Group Complexity, and Feeding	p. 212
Conclusion	p. 214
References	p. 215
Theory of Mind
Theory of Mind and Insight in Chimpanzees, Elephants, and Other Animals?	p. 227
Elephant Cognition	p. 228
Do Elephants and Chimpanzees know that People See?	p. 231
Do Elephants know that People See?	p. 240
Do Chimpanzees know that People See?	p. 245
Insight in Animals?	p. 248
Retractable Cord-Pulling in Elephants	p. 251
Do Elephants know when to Suck or Blow?	p. 254
Conclusion	p. 257
Acknowledgments	p. 257
References	p. 258
The Use of Social Information in Chimpanzees and Dogs	p. 263
Reading Attention	p. 265
What can Others See	p. 266
What Organ is Responsible for Vision	p. 269
Following Attention	p. 271
Attention Following into Distant Space	p. 272
Attention Following in Object Choice	p. 272
Directing Attention	p. 275
Discussion	p. 278
References	p. 283
Brain, Evolution, and Hemispheric Specialization
Increasing the Brain's Capacity: Neocortex, New Neurons, and Hemispheric Specialization	p. 289
Introduction	p. 289
Brain Size Relative to Body Weight	p. 290
Neocortex/Isocortex	p. 296
Frontal Lobes	p. 299
Relative Differences in the Size of Different Regions of the Brain	p. 299
Coordinated Size Change	p. 300
Mosaic Evolution	p. 302
Linking the Size of Brain Regions to Specific Behavior	p. 304
Correlations between Brain Size and Behavior	p. 305
Foraging for Food	p. 305
Social Intelligence	p. 306
Social Learning, Innovation, and Tool Use	p. 308
Hemispheric Specialization	p. 310
Corpus Callosum	p. 312
Experience and Brain Size	p. 314
Assumptions/New Neurons	p. 316
Conclusion	p. 317
References	p. 318
The Evolution of Lateralized Motor Functions	p. 325
Whole-body Turning	p. 327
Lower Vertebrates: Fish, Amphibians, and Reptiles	p. 327
Birds	p. 329
Non-Primate Mammals: Rodents, Dolphins, Cats, and Dogs	p. 329
Non-Human Primates	p. 331
Summary of Turning Biases	p. 331
Hand Preferences for Simple Actions	p. 332
Lower Vertebrates	p. 332
Birds	p. 333
Non-Primate Mammals: Rodents	p. 333
Non-Primate Mammals: Cats and Dogs	p. 334
Non-Human Primates	p. 335
Summary of Hand Preferences for Simple Actions	p. 338
Complex Visuospatial Tasks	p. 339
Non-Primate Mammals: Cats	p. 339
Non-Human Primates	p. 340
Summary of Complex Visuospatial Tasks	p. 342
Manipulation and Tool Use	p. 343
Birds	p. 343
Non-Human Primates	p. 344
Summary of Manipulation and Tool Use	p. 345
Foot Preferences in Locomotion	p. 346
Birds	p. 346
Non-Human Primates	p. 347
Summary of Foot Preferences in Locomotion	p. 348
Production of Emotional Responses and Vocalizations	p. 348
Lower Vertebrates: Fish, Amphibians, and Reptiles	p. 348
Birds	p. 349
Non-Primate Mammals: Rodents	p. 351
Non-Human Primates	p. 352
Summary	p. 354
Are Primates Special?	p. 355
Acknowledgments	p. 359
References	p. 359
Epilogue	p. 371
About the Editors	p. 375
Index	p. 377
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.

Comparative Vertebrate Cognition

Are Primates Superior to Non-Primates?

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

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Defective items

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Paperback

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