Primate Cognition [Paperback]

Soon after Charles Darwin formulated his theory of evolution, primate cognition became a major area of research. In this book, Michael Tomasello and Josep Call assess the current state of our knowledge about the cognitive skills of non-human primates. They integrate empirical findings on the topic from the beginning of the century to the present, placing this research in theoretical perspective. They begin with an examination of the way primates adapt to their physical world, mostly for the purpose of foraging. The second part of the book looks at primate social knowledge and focuses on the adaptations of primates to their social world for purposes of competition and cooperation. In the third section, the authors construct a general theory of primate cognition, distinguishing the cognition in primates from that of other mammals (human in particular). Their broad-ranging theory provides a guide for future research.Primate Cognitionis an enlightening exploration of the cognitive capacities of our nearest primate relatives and a useful resource for a wide range of researchers and students in psychology, behavioral biology, primatology, and anthropology.

1. Introduction
1.1. Historical Background
1.2. The Ecological Approach to Cognition
1.3. Primates and Their Lives
1.4. Plan of the Book
PART I: Knowledge of the Physical World
2. Space and Objects
2.1. Cognitive Mapping
2.2. Searching for Hidden Objects
2.3. Tracking Invisible Displacements
2.4. Other Forms of Spatial Understanding
2.5. What Primates Know About Space and Objects
3. Tools and Causality
3.1. Object Manipulation
3.2. Tool Use
3.3. Causal Understanding
3.4. What Primates Know About Tools and Causality
4. Features and Categories
4.1. Discrimination Learning
4.2. Natural Categories
4.3. Relational Categories
4.4. Classification
4.5. What Primates Know About Features and Categories
5. Quantities
5.1. EstimlsŸ