How does cognition evolve? Phylogenetic comparative psychology.
Abstract
Now more than ever animal studies have the potential to test hypotheses regarding
how cognition evolves. Comparative psychologists have developed new techniques to
probe the cognitive mechanisms underlying animal behavior, and they have become increasingly
skillful at adapting methodologies to test multiple species. Meanwhile, evolutionary
biologists have generated quantitative approaches to investigate the phylogenetic
distribution and function of phenotypic traits, including cognition. In particular,
phylogenetic methods can quantitatively (1) test whether specific cognitive abilities
are correlated with life history (e.g., lifespan), morphology (e.g., brain size),
or socio-ecological variables (e.g., social system), (2) measure how strongly phylogenetic
relatedness predicts the distribution of cognitive skills across species, and (3)
estimate the ancestral state of a given cognitive trait using measures of cognitive
performance from extant species. Phylogenetic methods can also be used to guide the
selection of species comparisons that offer the strongest tests of a priori predictions
of cognitive evolutionary hypotheses (i.e., phylogenetic targeting). Here, we explain
how an integration of comparative psychology and evolutionary biology will answer
a host of questions regarding the phylogenetic distribution and history of cognitive
traits, as well as the evolutionary processes that drove their evolution.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AnimalsBehavioral Research
Biological Evolution
Cognition
Hominidae
Phylogeny
Primates
Psychology, Comparative
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6593Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s10071-011-0448-8Publication Info
MacLean, Evan L; Matthews, Luke J; Hare, Brian A; Nunn, Charles L; Anderson, Rindy
C; Aureli, Filippo; ... Wobber, Victoria (2012). How does cognition evolve? Phylogenetic comparative psychology. Anim Cogn, 15(2). pp. 223-238. 10.1007/s10071-011-0448-8. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6593.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Elizabeth M. Brannon
Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Dr. Brannon's research program examines the evolution and development of quantitative
cognition. She studies how number, time, and spatial extent are represented by adult
humans, infants, young children and nonhuman animals without language. With her many
collaborators at Duke she applies behavioral techniques, event-related potentials,
functional magnetic resonance imaging, and single-unit physiology to explore the cognitive
and neural underpinnings of numerical cognition in nonhuman primates
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.
Christine M. Drea
Earl D. McLean Professor
I have two broad research interests, sexual differentiation and
social behavior, both focused on hyenas and primates. I am
particularly interested in unusual species in which the females
display a suite of masculinized characteristics, including male-
like or exaggerated external genitalia and social dominance.
The study of naturally occurring hormones in such unique
mammals can reveal general processes of hormonal activity,
expressed in genital morphology, reproductive development,
and
Brian Hare
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Evan L MacLean
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Charles L Nunn
Gosnell Family Professor in Global Health
Michael Louis Platt
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurobiology
Our lab tries to understand how the brain makes decisions. We are particularly interested
in the biological mechanisms that allow people and other animals to make decisions
when the environment is ambiguous or complicated by the presence of other individuals.
We use a broad array of techniques, including single neuron recordings, microstimulation,
neuropharmacology, eye tracking, brain imaging, and genomics to answer these questions.
Our work is motivated by ethology, evolutionary biology, and e
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.
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