PSYC 2330 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Morris Water Navigation Task, Long-Term Depression, Spatial Memory
11 Apr 2013
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Chapter 11 comparative cognition i: memory mechanism. Comparative cognition can lead to actions that cannot be explained on the basis of external stimuli and individual experiences at a time. Example: thinking you left your apartment unlocked and returning to check it. Some controversy over what the domain of comparative cognition should be: advocates for cognitive ethology claim that animals are capable of conscious thought and intentionality. The claim is based upon the complexity, flexibility and cleverness of various examples of animal behaviour. This argument has been debated and rejected by philosophers for centuries. Recent studies show the limitations of conscious intent as adequate explanation of human behaviour. In contrast to cognitive ethologists, experimental psychologists use the term comparative cognition in a more restricted sense. Contemporary experimental psychologists tie cognitive mechanisms closely to behavioural predictions. Thus, cognitive inferences can be refuted by experimental evidence. They are careful to accept only those hypothesized cognitive processes that lead to unambiguous behaviour predictions.
