Origins of spatial, temporal and numerical cognition: Insights from comparative psychology [Reprint]

Haun, D. B. M., Jordan, F., Vallortigara, G., & Clayton, N. S. (2011). Origins of spatial, temporal and numerical cognition: Insights from comparative psychology [Reprint]. In S. Dehaene, & E. Brannon (Eds.), Space, time and number in the brain. Searching for the foundations of mathematical thought (pp. 191-206). London: Academic Press.
Contemporary comparative cognition has a large repertoire of animal models and methods, with concurrent theoretical advances that are providing initial answers to crucial questions about human cognition. What cognitive traits are uniquely human? What are the species-typical inherited predispositions of the human mind? What is the human mind capable of without certain types of specific experiences with the surrounding environment? Here, we review recent findings from the domains of space, time and number cognition. These findings are produced using different comparative methodologies relying on different animal species, namely birds and non-human great apes. The study of these species not only reveals the range of cognitive abilities across vertebrates, but also increases our understanding of human cognition in crucial ways.
Publication type
Book chapter
Publication date
2011

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