What is Comparative Psychology?
Understanding Animal Cognition and the Behaviors it Generates
Aug 6, 2009
The earliest known work that might loosely be call comparative psychology dates to the 9th century in Arabia. Charles Darwin was instrumental in establishing this discipline of study in the late 1800’s but the development of behavioral ecology in the 1970’s provided the cornerstone of knowledge upon which a true comparative psychology could develop.
Since the 1990s, comparative psychology has undergone a reversal in its fundamental approach. Instead of using the principles of animal behavior to explain human behavior, comparative psychologists use human cognition studies to test the cognitive powers of different animal species.
This approach, referred to as animal cognition studies, has significantly advanced the understanding of memory, problem solving and other cognitive skills in animals that are the animal analogues of human cognitive processes.
Animal Memory
The categories that have been developed to analyze human memory – short term, long term, and episodic memory – have been applied to the study of animal memory. However, the study of spatial memory in animals such as Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), certain squirrels, jays, and titmice whose scatter-hoarding behavior require them to remember the locations of thousands of hidden seed caches have been the most common type of studies performed.
Tool Use and Problem Solving
To decipher the existence of tool use in animals, one must first define what is meant by “tool use.” A simple but workable definition is that a tool is any object that is not part of the body, which is used to accomplish a given task. Given this definition, tools can vary from a stick poked into an anthill by an orangutan to humans building a house to an elephant scratching itself against a tree.
The primates seem to be the most capable and creative when it comes to using tools. Monkeys will throw branches to discourage pursuing individuals, use sticks for clubbing, throwing and to reach food, and wipe their wounds with lightly masticated leaves. The intellectually-limited gorillas demonstrate very little tool use leaving chimpanzees as the head of the non-human primates class, with orangutans not far behind.
Closely related to tool use are the processes of reasoning and problem solving in animals. It is clear that a range of species, especially birds and mammals, are capable of solving a range of problems that can be argued to involve abstract reasoning.
Ravens have always been considered among the most intelligent birds and recent experiments have revealed a grain of truth to this long-held belief. Captive-reared ravens in an outdoor aviary were presented meat hung from a branch on the end of a string. The birds liked to eat meat but were unfamiliar with string and so were unable to get to the meat.
After several hours of contemplation but no action, one raven flew to the branch, grabbed the string, pulled it up, and stepped on it. He repeated this action until he brought the meat close enough to grab. The raven, when faced with a complex and unfamiliar challenge, clearly demonstrated creativity and advanced problem-solving abilities.
Are Animals Capable of Language?
When investigating the existence of true animal language, the difficulty lies in separating true language from mere communication. Some researchers argue that there are significant differences separating human language from animal communication and that the underlying principles between the two are clearly not related. Others argue that an evolutionary continuum exists between the communication methods of animals and human language.
Do Animals Posses Consciousness and Emotions?
Do animals have a sense of consciousness or self-awareness? This question has been and continues to be hotly debated. Research involving the mirror test has been revealing but controversial. If an animal’s skin is marked in some way while it is asleep or sedated, and it is then allowed to see its reflection in a mirror, any spontaneous grooming behavior directed to that mark could be taken as an indication that the animal is aware of itself.
Throughout human history, animal lovers, scientists, and philosophers have considered the possibility that non-human animals feel and express emotions in the sense that humans understand it. The whole matter is fraught with ambiguity and anthropomorphism (applying human characteristics to non-human animal behavior). There is no doubt animals feel physical pain but can they have their feelings hurt and their hearts broken? Behariorists have no definitive answers yet.
Issues of animal consciousness and emotion raise additional questions concerning deception and empathy. Do animals deceive each other (lie) and can they show empathy (understand what another animal is thinking) or are these strictly human traits? Research to answer such questions has been carried out mainly on primates but devising field-based experiments to test these ideas has proven difficult.
Comparative psychology involves comparing the cognitive similarities and differences among species to gain an understanding of the scope and depth of animal cognitive processes and the behaviors these processes generate.
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