1.07 - Categories and Concepts in Animals

Olga F Lazareva; Edward A Wasserman

doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.21008-0

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Book chapter

1.07 - Categories and Concepts in Animals

Olga F Lazareva and Edward A Wasserman

Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference, pp.111-139

Elsevier Ltd, Second Edition

2017

DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.21008-0

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Abstract

Are concepts and categories unique to the human brain? In this chapter, we review extensive empirical evidence on nonhuman animals' ability to form three broad types of concepts: (1) perceptual concepts, in which members of a class are perceptually similar to each other; (2) nonsimilarity-based concepts, in which members of a class are united by a common function or a common outcome; and (3) abstract concepts, which are based on relations between or among stimuli. This behavioral research strongly suggests that nonhuman animals can form many different concepts, although the exact mechanisms of concept formation remain elusive.

Subordinate-level categorization

Same–different discrimination

Concept of number

Multiple-alternative forced-choice discrimination

Relational learning

Cognition

Superordinate-level categorization

Analogy (or relation between relations)

Artificial polymorphous categorization

Matching to sample

Go/no-go

Transposition

Identity concept

Basic-level categorization

Details

Title: Subtitle: 1.07 - Categories and Concepts in Animals
Creators: Olga F Lazareva - Drake University, Des Moines, IA, United States
Edward A Wasserman - University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
Resource Type: Book chapter
Publication Details: Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference, pp.111-139
Edition: Second Edition
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.21008-0
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Language: English
Date published: 2017
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984070516802771

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