Issues in the Comparative Cognition of Abstract-Concept Learning

by Jeffrey Katz,
Auburn University

Anthony A. Wright,
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Kent Bodily,
Auburn University

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Abstract

Abstract-concept learning, including same/different and matching-to-sample concept learning, provides the basis for many other forms of “higher” cognition. The issue of which species can learn abstract concepts and the extent to which abstract-concept learning is expressed across species is discussed. Definitive answers to this issue are argued to depend on the subjects’ learning strategy (e.g., a relational-learning strategy) and the particular procedures used to test for abstract-concept learning. Some critical procedures that we have identified are: How to present the items to-be-compared (e.g., in pairs), a high criterion for claiming abstract-concept learning (e.g., transfer performance equivalent to baseline performance), and systematic manipulation of the training set (e.g., increases in the number of rule exemplars when transfer is less than baseline performance). The research covered in this article on the recent advancements in abstract-concept learning show this basic ability in higher-order cognitive processing is common to many animal species and that “uniqueness” may be limited more to how quickly new abstract concepts are learned rather than to the ability itself.

Katz, J., Wright, A. A., & Bodily, K. (2007). Issues in the Comparative Cognition of Abstract-Concept Learning. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 2, 79-92. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.20005

Individual Differences and Animal Personality

by Charles Locurto,
College of the Holy Cross

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Abstract

The study of personality in animals has attracted considerable empirical attention beginning with Pavlov’s identification of personality types in dogs. Subsequent work has revealed a number of similarities in personality between humans and nonhuman animals. A number of personality traits that are typically identified in studies of human personality, including aspects of neuroticism and extraversion, have also been isolated in studies of animal personality, predominantly in studies of nonhuman primates. Even traits that might appear to be uniquely human such as conscientiousness and psychopathy have nonhuman parallels. Moreover, a number of personality traits in humans that have distinctive neurobiological signatures, particularly aspects of neuroticism, are identifiable in nonhuman primates. These similarities include low basal serotonin levels and elevated cortisol levels in response to stress. It is argued that the inclusion of personality assessments in studies of comparative cognition will identify sources of variance that affect cognitive functioning, and will identify mutual influences between personality and cognition.

Locurto, C. (2007). Individual Differences and Animal Personality. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 2, 67-78. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.20004

Comparative Cognition, Hippocampal Function, and Recollection

by Howard Eichenbaum,
Boston University

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Abstract

What is conscious recollection? Is it special to humans or do animals have this capacity as well? What brain circuitry supports the kinds of information processing that constitute recollection? This review will outline recent evidence from studies on rodents, monkeys and humans bearing on these questions. This review focuses on a comparative approach that identified features of recollection that can be studied across species, explores these elements of recollection in animals, and examines in animals the role of the medial temporal areas that are critically involved in conscious recollection in humans. Substantial evidence indicates that animals exhibit all the fundamental features of recollection, that these abilities depend on the hippocampus in animals as well as humans, and that neuronal representations in the hippocampus reflect information processing fundamental to the features of recollection. In addition, the functional circuitry of the hippocampal system is largely conserved across species, and its organization suggests information processing mechanisms that support the features of recollection are common across species.

Eichenbaum, H. (2007). Comparative Cognition, Hippocampal Function, and Recollection. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 2, 47-66. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.20003

Tool-related Cognition in New Caledonian Crows

by Lucas A. Bluff,
University of Oxford

Alex A. S. Weir,
University of Oxford

Christian Rutz
University of Oxford

Joanna H. Wimpenny
University of Oxford

Alex Kacelnik
University of Oxford

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Abstract

The extent to which non-humans understand their physical world is controversial, due to conceptual and empirical difficulties. We examine the evidence for physical understanding in the remarkable tool-oriented behaviour of New Caledonian crows, which make several types of tool in the wild and show prolific tool-related behaviour in captivity. We summarize our own research into the cognitive processes involved in tool behaviour in this species, and review comparable studies in other birds and primates. Our main laboratory findings are: tool-related behaviour emerges in juvenile crows that had no opportunity to learn from others; adult crows can make or select tools of the appropriate length or diameter for tasks; and one crow, at least, can bend and unbend novel material to match task requirements. Although these observations are striking, they do not prove that this species is capable of understanding physical causality, as one cannot exclude explanations based on inherited proclivities, associative learning, and generalisation. Despite this, we argue that the conventional mechanisms become less likely as such observations accumulate. We conclude that while no adequate, non-verbal test for understanding exists, continued work with New Caledonian crows will help us to ask the right questions.

Bluff, L. A., Weir, A. A. S., Rutz, C., Wimpenny, J. H., & Kacelnik, A. (2007). Tool-related Cognition in New Caledonian Crows. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 2, 1-25. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.20001

Challenges Facing Contemporary Associative Approaches to Acquired Behavior

by Ralph R. Miller,
State University of New York at Binghamton

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Abstract

Despite the considerable success of contemporary associative models of learning in stimulating new behavioral research and modest success in providing direction to both neuroscience and psychotherapy, these models are confronted with at least three challenges. The first challenge is to the assumption that animals encode only one or a few summary statistics to capture what has been experienced over many training trials. This assumption is contrary to overwhelming evidence that the brain retains episodic information. The second challenge is that the learning-performance distinction has been largely ignored. Most models erroneously assume that behavior is a nearly perfect reflection of what has been encoded. The third challenge is to account for interactions between stimuli that have been presented separately (e.g., stimulus interference) as well as between stimuli that have been presented together (e.g., stimulus competition).

Miller, R. R. (2006). Challenges Facing Contemporary Associative Approaches to Acquired Behavior. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 1, 77-93. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.10005

Time, Place, and Content

by Jonathon D. Crystal,
University of Georgia

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Abstract

The goal of this article is to integrate information about basic mechanisms of time perception with research on time-place learning and research on the discrimination of what, when, and where (WWW). Several lines of evidence suggest that the psychological representation of time is nonlinearly related to physical estimates of time. These data prompt consideration of the proposal that interval timing is mediated by multiple, short-period oscillators. A multiple oscillator representation of time may be used to code the time of occurrence of events. These time-stamps for events, together with information about where the events occurred, may represent a promising direction for development of a quantitative, mechanistic theory of episodic-like memory in animals.

Crystal, J. D. (2006). Time, Place, and Content. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 1, 53-76. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.10004

An Ontology for Comparative Cognition: A Functional Approach

by Stan Franklin,
Department of Computer Science and The Institute For Intelligent Systems, The University of Memphis

Michael Ferkin,
Department of Biology, The University of Memphis

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Abstract

The authors introduce an ontology for the study of how animals think, as well as a comprehensive model of human and animal cognition utilizing the ontology. The IDA (Intelligent Distribution Agent) model of cognition, a computational and conceptual model derived from a working software agent, is described within the framework of the ontology. The model is built on functional needs of animals, relating it to the existing literature. The article provides testable hypotheses and a sample a model of decision-making processes in voles. The article closes with a brief comparison of the IDA model to other computational models of cognition, and a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the ontology and the model.

Keywords: KEYWORDS

Franklin, S. & Ferkin, M. (2006). An Ontology for Comparative Cognition: A Functional Approach. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 1, 36-52. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.10003

Comparative Cognition of Object Recognition

by Marcia L. Spetch,
University of Alberta

Alinda Friedman,
University of Alberta

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Abstract

Object recognition is fundamental in the lives of most animals. The authors review research comparing object recognition in pigeons and humans. One series of studies investigated recognition of previously learned objects seen in novel depth rotations, including the influence of a single distinctive object part and whether the novel view was close to two or only one of the training views. Another series of studies investigated whether recognition of directly viewed objects differs from recognition of objects viewed in pictures. The final series of studies investigated the role of motion in object recognition. The authors review similarities and differences in object recognition between humans and pigeons. They also discuss future directions for comparative investigations of object recognition.

Spetch, M. L., & Friedman, A. (2006). Comparative cognition of object recognition. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 1, 12-35. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi: 10.3819/ccbr.2008.10002

The Prospective Cognition of Food Caching and Recovery by Western Scrub-Jays (Alphelocoma californica)

by Nicola S. Clayton,
University of Cambridge

Nathan J. Emery,
University of Cambridge

Anthony Dickinson,
University of Cambridge

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Abstract

The role of prospective cognition in food caching and recovery by western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) is reviewed. These birds anticipate the short-term consequences of searching for cached food at recovery by reducing their searches for devalued food items. Two further lines of evidence suggest that the jays are also capable of more long-term prospection. First, the caching of food items decreases when they are consistently degraded or pilfered at recovery over cache-recovery intervals that preclude direct delayed reinforcement and punishment. Second, the jays anticipate the pilfering of their caches by another bird, which observes the caching episode, by engaging in various cache-protection behaviors. These finding suggest that the jays are capable of a form of prospective mental “time travel”.

Clayton, N. S., Emery, N. J., & Dickinson, A. (2006). The prospective cognition of food caching and recovery by Western Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica). Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 1, 1-11. Retrieved from https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/ doi:10.3819/ccbr.2008.10001