Exploring Comparative Cognition: Understanding Animal Minds and Behavior

1. Comparative Cognition Today January 12, 2010

2. Overview What is comparative cognition? What is studied? What approaches are taken?

3. What is comparative cognition?

4. Comparative Cognition • Darwin: • “the difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind” • Comparative cognition is: • A comparison of mental abilities of species • Cognitive abilities and capabilities • e.g. capabilities: Alex the Grey Parrot

5. Past approaches From Shettleworth (2009), Behav Process. 80, 210-217 • Review from last class • American vs European approaches • Species used:

6. Why Psychology? • Why is animal behaviour studied in psych department, not zoology? • 4 main reasons: • Uniqueness • Control & irreversible effects • Simplicity & generality • Continuity

7. Uniqueness • Certain animals have unique properties that allow us to study subjects which could not be studied any other way: • Mice and genes • Giant Squid Axons • High pecking rates of pigeons • Echolocation in bats • Absolute pitch in songbirds

8. Control & Irreversible Effects • For practical and ethical reasons, we can have greater control in animals over both: • Genes • Environments • Irreversible Effects: • Drugs, lesions, gene manipulations

9. Simplicity & Generality • Insights from Model Systems • Mendel studied peas • Impact on study of schizophrenia • Generality of principles • Building blocks of cognition

10. Continuity • Neurobiological continuity • e.g. Hippocampal lesions in mice and men • Evolutionary continuity • Divergent and convergent evolution • Analagous vs homologous traits

11. Continuity Time Pigeons Mice Rats Humans

12. Continuity Time Pigeons Mice Rats Humans

13. What topics are studied?

14. 3 main areas: • Basic processes • Physical cognition • Social cognition

15. Basic Processes • Includes: • Perception • Attention • Memory • Associative leaning • Category and concept learning

16. Physical Cognition • Includes: • Time • Space • Number • Tool Use • Causal understanding

17. Social Cognition • Includes: • Social networks • Dominance structures • Social Relationships • Morality and ethics • Theory of Mind • Social learning • Observational learning • Imitation • Communication & Language

18. Approaches to Studying Comparative Cognition

19. Aspects of Cognition How is information acquired or learned? How is information processed? How is information retained?

20. Types of Studies 4 approaches to studying animal behaviour: Naturalistic Observation (Ethological) Field Experiments Behavioural Experiments Behavioural Neuroscience (Physiological)

21. Tinbergen’s Four Questions • Named for ethologist Niko Tinbergen • Proximate (How) vs Ultimate (Why)

22. Proximate Questions • Causation: • Brain – e.g. Broca’s area • Hormones – e.g. Testosterone stimulates aggressive behaviour • Pheremones – e.g. Spatial behaviour, tracking • Development or Ontogeny • Nature/Nurture – genes and environment • Critical periods – e.g. language or imprinting

23. Ultimate Questions • Function or Adaptation • How has an organism evolved for survival? • e.g. Birds fly south for warmth & food • e.g. Mammal nurture young • Phylogeny • Evolutionary explanations, other than adaptation • e.g. Genetic drift