Comparative Cognition Research Demonstrates the Similarity between Humans and Other Animals

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The traditional view of cognition is that it is something that differentiates humans from other species. There is growing evidence, however, that if one “asks” other animals appropriately, they often show evidence that they too are capable of cognitive processes thought to be unique to humans. Furthermore, several behaviors thought to involve complex human cognition that are presumed to be culturally learned can be shown to occur in other species as well. Results such as these suggest that simpler processes are likely to be involved. Together, these lines of research demonstrate that the cognitive distinctions that have been made between humans and other animals may be greatly exaggerated. The present review focuses on several cognitive phenomena that can be demonstrated in animals. The review focuses primarily on pigeons (because they are not thought to be especially cognitive compared to primates) out of convenience, because they are a highly visual species. A better understanding of the similarities between humans and other animals should help foster improved treatment of nonhuman species, as well as, in some cases, improved treatment of disordered human behavior. ABSTRACT: The field of comparative cognition represents the interface between the cognitive behavior of humans and other animals. In some cases, research demonstrates that other animals are capable of showing similar cognitive processes. In other cases, when animals show behavior thought to be culturally determined in humans, it suggests that simpler processes may be involved. This review examines research primarily with pigeons (out of convenience because of their visual ability). I start with the concept of sameness and follow with the concept of stimulus equivalence, the building blocks of human language. This is followed by research on directed forgetting, the cognitive ability to maintain or forget information. A hallmark of cognition is transitive inference performance (if A < B, and B < C, the understanding that A < C), but the variety of species that show this ability suggests that there may be simpler accounts of this behavior. Similarly, experiments that demonstrate a form of cognitive dissonance in animals suggest that dissonance may not be necessary to explain this biased behavior. Furthermore, examples of sunk cost in pigeons suggests that the human need to continue working on a failing project may also have a biological basis. Finally, pigeons show a preference for a suboptimal choice that is similar to unskilled human gambling, a finding that may clarify why humans are so prone to engage in this typically losing activity.