Background. Animal Cognition. Background. Background. Psychology 205a

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1 Background Animal Cognition Psychology 205a For most of 20 th century the focus in Learning was on the role of associations in classical and instrumental conditioning remember those first 18 lectures? During the 1960s and 1970s human psychology underwent the so-called cognitive revolution November 17, November 17, Background The cognitive revolution spilled over into animal psychology, and stimulated much interest in animal cognition During the 1970s papers began to be published on topics such as memory, language, timing, etc.., in journals concerned with the experimental psychology of animal behavior November 17, Background The focus on animal cognition, as opposed to simple associative learning has continued to the present Though the conceptual framework has changed since behaviorism s heyday, many of the procedures and techniques for recording behavior are the same November 17,

2 What is Cognition? Processes by which organisms acquire, process, store, retrieve, and act on information from the environment Perception Learning Memory Decision making What is Cognition? Interest in cognitive processes in animals predates the 1970s Darwin, for instance, argued that processes such as attention, memory, consciousness, and aesthetics should be evident in animals November 17, November 17, Darwin s Continuity Hypothesis differences in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, is certainly one of degree and not of kind. Charles Darwin (1871), The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Darwin s Continuity Hypothesis If humans descended from an ancestral form then evidence for our continuity with animals should appear in the form of human-like psychological processes in animals Darwin gathered anecdotal evidence to support his argument November 17, November 17,

3 Darwin s Continuity Hypothesis Anecdotal evidence for reasoning Monkey unwraps lumps of sugar Occasionally, its trainer substitutes a wasp for the sugar and the wasp stings the monkey Next time the monkey receives the wrapped sugar, it hold it to its ear before unwrapping it Consciousness One aspect of cognition that is usually regarded as special is consciousness Personal, private, subjective awareness of ourselves and our actions November 17, November 17, Consciousness Behaviorism made consciousness a taboo topic No need to appeal to a conscious mind, if learned responses can explain everything Cognitive Ethology Lead by Donald R. Griffin Interest in the question of animal consciousness was renewed by a group of psychologists calling themselves cognitive ethologists November 17, November 17,

4 Notorious D.R.G. Notorious D.R.G. Griffin s arguments in support of animal consciousness Physical and physiological continuity Complexity of behavior Adaptive value of consciousness November 17, Physical/Physiological Continuity There are many similarities in the structure and function of the nervous systems of humans and animals This similarity should lead to similarity in information processing and awareness of the environment November 17, Notorious D.R.G. Complexity of Animal Behavior Many instances of animal behavior are complex Communication Tool use How could animals plan and carry out such actions without being aware of them? Notorious D.R.G. Adaptiveness of Consciousness Consciousness may have promoted human fitness by allowing people to anticipate the consequences of their actions Consciousness should similarly promote the fitness of other animals November 17, November 17,

5 Evaluating Cognitive Ethology Intentional Moths? These arguments sound nice, but there are problems with some of them The complexity argument is an argument from design Behavior is so complex that it must have been consciously planned and carried out Complex behavior could simply be the result of inherited behavioral tendencies and learned behaviors November 17, November 17, Evaluating Claims of Consciousness The trick for cognitive ethology is to specify behavioral evidence of consciousness that cannot unambiguously be explained in other ways This is not easy to do Indeed, it may not be possible Self-Awareness in Chimps? Gordon Gallup (1970s) What happens if you give a chimp a mirror? Eventually, chimp uses mirror to look um places, pick their nose, pick their teeth, etc.. Chimps seem to learn that the image in the mirror is their own November 17, November 17,

6 I m a Pretty Chimp! The Mark Test Gallup While chimp is anesthetized its face is marked with red dye Upon waking up, the chimp shows no interest the location of the mark When given a mirror it touches and rubs the mark and smell its fingers November 17, November 17, Views of Consciousness Comparative Cognition 1. Animals are conscious; we should understand the nature of their conscious states (e.g. Griffin) 2. Animals are not conscious (e.g. Descartes) 3. Some animals may be conscious, but we can never know because it is a private, subjective state (most contemporary psychologists) The field of animal cognition is often called Comparative Cognition Comparison refers to comparisons among nonhuman species and comparisons between humans and other animals November 17, November 17,

7 Making Comparisons Making Comparisons Which is smarter, a cat or a dog? Much of the early research done in animal cognition asked questions like this Two species performed the same task and their performance was compared Often the investigator would then rank order the species in terms of intelligence Hunter (1913) s Delayed Response task Animal was required to move from a delay chamber to a doorway that had food behind it Animal chose among 3 possible doorways A brief light signaled which doorway was correct Animal made choice following some delay after the light was extinguished November 17, November 17, Making Comparisons Making Comparisons Hunter (1913) s Delayed Response task Delay (seconds) Maximum delay to accurate choice 0 November 17, 2004 Children Dogs Raccoons Rats 27 Hunter (1913) s Conclusions Children smarter than dogs which are smarter than raccoons which are smarter than rats Dogs and rats seemed to rely on positional orientation, not memory Children and raccoon s seemed to rely less on positional orientation and therefore more on memory November 17,

8 Making Comparisons Scala Naturae The notion of ranking species according to intelligence reflects a misguided view of the natural relationship among species The scala naturae, or Great Chain of Being Ranking of species from least complex to most complex November 17, Insects Fish Single-celled organisms Amphibians Birds Reptiles Nonhuman Mammals November 17, Scala Naturae Scala Naturnot! Evolution has resulted in a tree or bush-like structure of relationships The phylogenetic tree Traditional Approach to Comparative Cognition Three common features 1. Reliance on the scala naturae 2. Emphasis on cognitive processes that have been identified in humans do animals have too? 3. Species chosen according to tradition/convenience November 17, November 17,

9 An Alternative Approach to Comparative Cognition The Ecological Approach 1. Combines knowledge of evolutionary biology with experimental approach to animal cognition 2. Emphasis on cognitive adaptations, which evolved as solutions to specific environmental problems 3. Species chosen depending on the nature of the problem being studied Food Storing Birds Some passerine species store food in scattered locations Jays and crows Nuthatches Chickadees November 17, November 17, Food Storing Birds Some facts about food storage: November 17, November 24, s s of items stored in fall/winter One item per cache site Cache sites not reused Caches retrieved hours to days later Retrieval based on memory for cache locations! November 17,

10 Food Storing Birds Food Storing Birds Food-storing matters Chickadees lose ~ 10% of body weight overnight Retrieval permits efficient foraging and weight gain Mean Weight (g) Early AM Midday Alpha Beta Late PM Brodbeck (1994) Do food-storing birds attend preferentially to spatial cues associated with food? November 17, Boisvert & Sherry, 2000 November 17, Birds find peanut in feeder and return after delay to retrieve it On test trials, feeder array was shifted and two feeders swapped Brodbeck (1994) Training Test November 17, L A C Training Test L A C Percent of choices November 17, Choice number Room Location (L) Array Location (A) Color/ Pattern 10

11 Brodbeck (1994) Food-storers preferentially attend to spatial cues over proximal cues, like color or pattern Non-storing species show no preference for one cue type over another November 17,