Knowra Primate cognition Primate cognition Primate cognition comprises the mental capacities primates use to perceive, remember, learn, communicate, and solve problems. It varies across species and individuals and develops through both biology and experience.
Animal cognition : The study of mental processes in nonhuman animals, including perception, memory, learning, and decision-making. Primate cognition is one branch of the broader study of animal minds.
Insight learning : Problem-solving in which a solution appears through reorganizing how a situation is understood. Sudden solutions in primates raise questions about reasoning versus trial and error.
Kanzi : A bonobo known for research on comprehension of spoken English and communication using lexigrams. Studies of Kanzi tested how a bonobo interprets spoken requests and symbols.
Primate sociality : The patterns of social relationships and group living found among primates. Social settings create demands for remembering relationships and anticipating others' behavior.
Human cognition : The mental capacities of humans, including perception, memory, language, reasoning, and decision-making. Human comparisons help identify both continuities and distinctive features in primate minds.
Working memory : The limited-capacity system that temporarily maintains and manipulates information for ongoing tasks. It helps explain how primates hold information in mind while solving problems.
Tool use by animals : The use of external objects to achieve goals by nonhuman animals. Primate tool use offers observable cases of planning and flexible problem-solving.
Clever Hans : A horse whose apparent arithmetic performances were explained by responses to subtle human cues. The case warns that apparent primate understanding can be shaped by experimenter cues.
Theory of mind : The capacity to attribute beliefs, desires, intentions, or knowledge to oneself and others. Primate studies investigate whether individuals track what others can see or know.
Great apes : The family of tailless primates that includes humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. Great apes are a closely related group central to comparisons of primate cognition.
Show all 29