Animal cognition

Animal cognition is the study of mental processes in nonhuman animals, including how they perceive, learn, remember, reason, and make decisions.

Animal learning: Changes in animal behavior or knowledge resulting from experience. Learning is a central process through which animals acquire information and adapt their behavior.
Mirror test: A test that uses a mirror to investigate whether an animal recognizes its reflected image as itself. The test has shaped debates about self-recognition in animals.
Charles Darwin: The English naturalist who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin argued that mental abilities, like physical traits, could evolve across species.
Ethology: The scientific study of animal behavior, often emphasizing observation in natural settings and evolutionary function. Ethology complements cognitive experiments by examining behavior in the conditions where it evolved.
Theory of mind in animals: The debated capacity of nonhuman animals to represent the knowledge, beliefs, or intentions of others. Studies ask whether social behavior depends on understanding what another individual knows.
Animal memory: The encoding, retention, and use of information by nonhuman animals. Memory lets animals retain experiences and use them to guide later choices.
Alex (parrot): An African grey parrot studied by Irene Pepperberg for his vocal communication and cognitive abilities. Alex's responses to questions about objects and categories prompted close study of parrot cognition.
George Romanes: A nineteenth-century British biologist who wrote extensively about animal intelligence and mental evolution. Romanes helped establish animal psychology, though his reliance on anecdotes drew later criticism.
Cognitive ethology: The study of mental processes in animals within the context of their natural behavior and environments. It connects questions about animal minds with field observation and ecological context.
Metacognition in animals: The debated ability of nonhuman animals to monitor or evaluate their own knowledge and uncertainty. Experiments test whether animals can distinguish what they know from what they do not know.

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