Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior

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About Cognition, Evolution, And Behavior

Product Description How do animals perceive the world, learn, remember, search for food or mates, communicate, and find their way around? Do any nonhuman animals count, imitate one another, use a language, or have a culture? What are the uses of cognition in nature and how might it have evolved? What is the current status of Darwin's claim that other species share the same "mental powers" as humans, but to different degrees? In this completely revised second edition of Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior, Sara Shettleworth addresses these questions, among others, by integrating findings from psychology, behavioral ecology, and ethology in a unique and wide-ranging synthesis of theory and research on animal cognition, in the broadest sense--from species-specific adaptations of vision in fish and associative learning in rats to discussions of theory of mind in chimpanzees, dogs, and ravens. She reviews the latest research on topics such as episodic memory, metacognition, and cooperation and other-regarding behavior in animals, as well as recent theories about what makes human cognition unique. In every part of this new edition, Shettleworth incorporates findings and theoretical approaches that have emerged since the first edition was published in 1998. The chapters are now organized into three sections: Fundamental Mechanisms (perception, learning, categorization, memory), Physical Cognition (space, time, number, physical causation), and Social Cognition (social knowledge, social learning, communication). Shettleworth has also added new chapters on evolution and the brain and on numerical cognition, and a new chapter on physical causation that integrates theories of instrumental behavior with discussions of foraging, planning, and tool using. Review "Sara Shettleworth has accomplished a truly impressive synthesis of an enormous body of research on a wide variety of animal species. I can think of no other work that so successfully and thoughtfully integrates research in both experimental psychology and behavioral ecology, and that so comprehensively describes the exciting new field of animal cognition. Her book is essential to anyone interested the evolution of animal minds and the mechanisms that guide animal thought." --Dorothy Cheney, University of Pennsylvania "In the decade since the first edition was published, the field of comparative cognition has seen an expansive increase and diversification (Shettleworth, 2009*). Many advances have been made, and many new ideas have become influential. The revisions in this new edition represent an enormous undertaking, masterfully capturing the excitement of the past decade. Whether in spatial cognition or communication, the chapters remain both comprehensive and integrative, with additions highlighting significant and interesting developments in diverse topics. The range of issues discussed is staggering and attests to a highly skilful and balanced overview of what has become a complex and interdisciplinary field. The new edition is an improvement on an already great scholarly work, with much to say to diverse fields including comparative cognition, neuroethology, and behavioral ecology. It will be highly cited." --Ken Cheng, Macquarie University *Behavioural Processes 80:210-217 "Rigorous analyses of field and laboratory findings lie at the heart of this readable yet insightful examination of the uses and abuses of evolutionary theory and ecology in the study of animal cognition. Shettleworth's thought-provoking, up-to-date, interdisciplinary overview is essential reading for anyone with an interest in understanding the relationship between animal and human psychology." --Bennett Galef, McMaster University "If you are curious about animal behaviour, whether as an undergraduate or a graduate student or a researcher, then you absolutely must read this remarkable book. It is extraordinarily well written, erudite, yet simple, beautifully illustrated and perhaps more import