Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior 1st Edition

by Sara J. Shettleworth (Author)

30 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0195110487

ISBN-10: 019511048X

Why is ISBN important?

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers

from

Other Sellers

See all 7 versions

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

FREE delivery April 15 - 21. Details

Or fastest delivery April 11 - 13. Details

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by TommyBee.

List Price: $55.00 Details

Save: $30.30 (55%)

FREE delivery April 13 - 18. Details

There is a newer edition of this item:

Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior
$59.58
(30)
In Stock.

How do animals perceive the world, learn, remember, search for food or mates, communicate, and find their way around? Do any nonhuman animals count, imitate one another, use a language, or have a culture? What are the uses of cognition in nature and how might it have evolved? What is the current status of Darwin's claim that other species share the same "mental powers" as humans, but to different degrees?
In this completely revised second edition of Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior, Sara Shettleworth addresses these questions, among others, by integrating findings from psychology, behavioral ecology, and ethology in a unique and wide-ranging synthesis of theory and research on animal cognition, in the broadest sense--from species-specific adaptations of vision in fish and associative learning in rats to discussions of theory of mind in chimpanzees, dogs, and ravens. She reviews the latest research on topics such as episodic memory, metacognition, and cooperation and other-regarding behavior in animals, as well as recent theories about what makes human cognition unique.
In every part this new edition, Shettleworth incorporates findings and theoretical approaches that have emerged since the first edition was published in 1998. The chapters are now organized into three sections: Fundamental Mechanisms (perception, learning, categorization, memory), Physical Cognition (space, time, number, physical causation), and Social Cognition (social knowledge, social learning, communication). Shettleworth has also added new chapters on evolution and the brain and on numerical cognition, and a new chapter on physical causation that integrates theories of instrumental behavior with discussions of foraging, planning, and tool using.

John Alcock
148
Paperback
45 offers from $3.79

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a very comprehensive review of animal cognition. It differs from other texts on this topic in a number of ways, as outlined by Shettleworth in her preface and in the opening chapter. Essentially, Shettleworth wants to advocate an 'adaptationist or ecological approach to cognition'. In doing so, she brings together a wealth of data on animal cognition, studied from quite different theoretical viewpoints, such as cognitive ethology, animal learning theory, neuroscience, behavioural ecology and cognitive psychology. . . . Each chapter ends with a clear and useful summary, and helpful suggestions for further reading. The book's numerous illustrations, which are mostly tables or figures redrawn by Margaret Nelson, greatly add to its appeal. . . . [T]his is a marvellously rich, well-written and stimulating book. . . . I greatly enjoyed reading [and] recommend it highly to anyone interested in animal cognition, evolution and behaviour."―Animal Behaviour

"Sara Shettleworth has probably written the most comprehensive study of the animal mind ever and therefore a fundamental textbook on 'comparative cognition'. She first gets consciousness out of the way: whether an animal is conscious or not is impossible to determine, since consciousness is a private, subjective phenomenon. We can study cognition, and certainly cognition lends credibility to the idea that at least some animals must be at least to some degree conscious, but experiments can only prove facts about cognition. She reviews the field of cognitive ethology from the beginning and then analyzes the main cognitive tasks from an information-processing perspective By the end of her review of cognitive faculties, it become apparent that, at least among vertebrates, there are no significant differences in learning, except for language. All vertebrates are capable of 'associative' learning What no other vertebrate seems to be capable of is 'syntax'." ― Piero Scaruffi, Thymos.com

About the Author

Sara Shettleworth is Professor Emerita in the Departments of Psychology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto, where she obtained her Ph.D. in 1970. Her research on learning and memory in a variety of species of birds and mammals has been published in over 100 articles and book chapters. Her contributions have been recognized by numerous awards, including the International Comparative Cognition Society's 2008 Research Award. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Animal Behavior Society, and a member of the Society of Experimental Psychologists.

Start reading Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product information

Technical Details

Publisher

‎Oxford University Press, USA; 1st edition (December 17, 1998)

Language

‎English

Paperback

‎704 pages

ISBN-10

‎019511048X

ISBN-13

‎978-0195110487

Item Weight

‎2.16 pounds

Dimensions

‎6.14 x 1.47 x 9.21 inches

Feedback

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Sara J. Shettleworth

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		74%
4 star		12%
3 star		6%
2 star		6%
1 star		2%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Michael

Against anthropomorphism in animal cognition studies

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

This book is in a way an intellectual history of comparative and evolutionary cognitive studies. I found this to be a fascinating read. It's loaded with mountains of fine details about various animal cognitive systems and provides thorough explanations of the tests that support the scientific claims. Even more interesting, she provides a primer in critical thinking about experimental research and findings. She demonstrates how initial appearances as to results can prove to be misleading when unexamined assumptions are addressed. Perhaps most valuable for me was her constant vigilance against the common errors of anthropomorphism which too easily distort our perceptions of animal life. All effort to draw conclusions about animal behaviour, cognition, communication, consciousness, etc., has to sustain constant critical vigilance against such conceptual errors if anything valuable is to be learned from such research. Shettleworth helped me appreciated this fact in a way I'd not quite previously. Highly recommended!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Eszter

Difficult to read

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

The book has a lot of important and valuable information but it is not easy to read. The definitions of the various terms are lost in the text and sometimes event absent. The wording and the length of the sentences (sometimes longer than 3-4 lines) make it hard to decipher the key information. Even with some background knowledge on the topics I find the book difficult to follow.

Helpful

Joe Szimhart

I could say more...excellent science reading.

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

I found this book by Shettleworth useful on a variety of levels, but it will take me some with re-readings time to properly absorb the evidence proposed here. The book is a keeper in my personal library. A key quote that for me sums up the text: "On this view [that evolution ratchets up traits from mammal to human] although humans undoubtedly share some of the simpler social transmission mechanisms with other species, the propensity to imitate sets us apart even from chimpanzees...and makes genuine culture posssible" (p 306). We have learned to imitate through symbols to the point that we can imitate our genetic codes and make valuable use of those imitiations. Great book!

Helpful

Jesse McClure

Most complete book on animal behavior I have yet encountered.

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2009

Verified Purchase

As a dedicated student of animal behavior I have read a wide variety of texts on the subject but this book stands out in its seamless synthesis of data from ethology/behavioral ecology and comparative/experimental psychology. Previously a student seeking a complete picture of the field of animal behavior would be best served by reading several texts from psychology and biology but here a vast amount of information is presented in a clear, concise, and highly readable manner. The author has in one text presented material that will intrigue but not overwhelm the lay person, yet it will also challenge experts in the field to consider data they might otherwise not have considered.

I wish I could give this book 6 stars. My only regret is not having discovered this one years ago.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alpha Bond

My Favorite Book!

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2011

Verified Purchase

This book is so full of fascinating information and interesting studies that it's remarkable! I recommend it to anyone who is interested in human or animal intelligence, evolution, or behavior. It is a huge gift to all of us who are curious about ourselves, the other animals we share the planet with, and how all of us became who we are over the course of evolution. It's not a light read, but it's not so heavy as to be out of reach for most educated readers. I have reread parts of it several times and always find new rewards. It should be required reading for a real education!

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Brian Doyle

Fantastic

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2003

This was the required textbook for a class on Animal Intelligence at the University of Kansas. Contained various examples from a broad range of animal intelligence. Illustrated quite well how little we know about intelligence.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

M.G$

Disliked very much

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2014

I used this for a college course. Very difficult to read through. I disliked the bulky size and small print of this book. Yes content is there, if you can disifer it.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Vesperus

Excellent book easy to understand and good for anyoen intrested in or studying cognition.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

this was a suggested core book for my Cognition module of my degree.
the book itself is very good, it helped me pass my course, it has plenty of examples and references for all types of cognition.
i personally found certain aspects repetitive, but that is mainly because i already knew them so they were going into more detail then necessary for me personally.
the book is a good read and a must have for anyone studying cognition, whether it be animal or human. as to understand cognition fully even in humans you need to study how animals learn and adapt.
weather you have a very basic understanding of cognition and need to advance your knowledge or have a good understanding and need examples of different types of cognition, this is a book you will appreciated.
i will say for a book it is a tad on the expensive side, but it is worth it, certainly was for me, without it i wouldn't have passed the module, due to lack of examples, so couldn't be happier with it.

anonimo

good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

Very good book. A bit expensive but overall I found it useful. I sold it later on for the same price so it works out good in the end

Jasmine

Brilliant Buy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

Brilliant buy, quick and fast delivery, and well packaged. Great book for anyone studying animal behaviour and welfare at university, will help you during your 3 years and more. Will recommend!!

Cliente Amazon

Bueno

Reviewed in Spain on October 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

Compendio bastante completo de experimentos animales, explicación avanzada de procesos cognitivos generales. Cognition, Evolution and Behavior buen libro de referencia.

Translate review to English

sophie

Super bon livre! Une référence dans le domaine.

Reviewed in Canada on December 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

Super bon livre! Une référence dans le domaine.

Translate review to English

See all reviews

Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior 1st Edition

Buy used: $8.73

Buy new: $24.70

There is a newer edition of this item:

Customers who bought this item also bought

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product information

Technical Details

Feedback

About the author

Sara J. Shettleworth

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy used:

$8.73

Buy new:

$24.70