Lectrue 1 - Animal cognition

What is animal cognition?

Animal cognition refers to the mental capacities of nonhuman animals — such as perception, memory, learning, and problem-solving

What kinds of mental processes are included in animal cognition?

It includes a wide range of processes such as:

• Social cognition (interpreting and responding to others)

• Executive functions (goal-directed behavior, decision-making)

• Memory (short- and long-term)

• Learning (conditioning, habituation, imitation)

• Perception (how animals gather and interpret sensory information)

How does animal cognition research contribute to conservation?

By revealing how animals learn about and respond to threats — such as predators or human activity — allowing conservationists to develop better strategies for protection, reintroduction, and coexistence.

What was Charles Darwin’s contribution to animal cognition?

Darwin proposed cognitive continuity, the idea that human and animal minds differ in degree, not in kind. He argued that mental abilities evolved gradually across species, reflecting shared ancestry.

What did Wolfgang Köhler’s work with chimpanzees reveal?

He showed that chimpanzees can use insight learning — solving problems by mentally visualizing solutions rather than by trial and error. They demonstrated planning and purposeful tool use, like stacking boxes to reach food.

What did E.C. Tolman’s experiments with rats reveal about learning and cognition?

E.C. Tolman’s studies in the 1940s challenged the behaviorist view that learning only occurs through stimulus–response associations reinforced by rewards. In his maze experiments, rats were allowed to explore a maze without receiving any food rewards.

Later, when food was introduced, the rats were able to find it quickly — showing they had already formed a mental representation of the maze, known as a cognitive map.

This demonstrated two key ideas:

• 🧭 Cognitive map: Animals can create an internal, mental “map” of their environment to navigate and plan routes.

• ⏱ Latent learning: Learning can occur without immediate reinforcement, and be expressed later when there’s motivation (like food).

What was John Garcia’s key discovery about learning in 1966?

He discovered taste aversion learning — animals can associate a flavor or smell with sickness even after several hours. This showed that learning doesn’t always require immediate reinforcement, challenging traditional conditioning theories.

What did David Olton’s eight-arm maze experiments with rats show?

They demonstrated that rats have strong spatial memory. They could remember which arms they had already visited (working memory) and which arms contained food across trials (reference memory).

What is the difference between working memory and reference memory?

• Working memory: Remembering temporary information, like which paths were visited during a single trial.

• Reference memory: Remembering constant information, like fixed food locations over time.

What are some common tests used to study animal cognition, and what do they measure?

• Maze tests (e.g., T-maze, Y-maze, radial arm maze):
  Measure spatial learning and memory — how animals navigate and remember locations of rewards.

• Object recognition or discrimination tests:
  Assess memory, attention, and perception — whether animals can distinguish or remember specific objects or patterns.

• Conditioning tasks (classical or operant):
  Evaluate learning and association — how animals link stimuli with outcomes, such as sounds with food or actions with rewards.

• Mirror self-recognition test:
  Tests self-awareness — whether an animal recognizes its reflection as itself rather than another individual.

• Cognitive bias test:
  Measures emotional states and decision-making — whether animals interpret ambiguous cues optimistically or pessimistically.

• Reversal learning test:
  Examines behavioral flexibility and executive function — how animals adapt when reward contingencies are reversed.

• Problem-solving or tool-use tasks:
  Explore insight, reasoning, and innovation — how animals manipulate objects or use tools to achieve goals.