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Primate cognition
Abstract
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 Cognition is 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.
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“Although this example may indicate a qualitative cognitive transition between two clades, the majority of cognitive traits likely evolve along more subtle dimensions and will not cleanly map onto major lineages of a phylogeny.”
From How does cognition evolve? Phylogenetic comparative psychology (2012) · cites this paper as Tomasello and Call 1997
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Metadata
- Authors
- Tomasello, M., & Call, J.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Publisher
- Oxford University PressNew York, NY
- Published
- 1997-09-18
- OpenAlex
- W4388278123
- Cited by
- 1,491
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 59 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 68 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 93 · 2014: 48 · 2013: 59 · 2012: 61
- FWCI
- 29.05
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Keywords
- primate cognition, non-human primates, foraging behavior, social cognition, competition and cooperation, primate social behavior, comparative cognition, cognitive evolution, theory of mind
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