Animal Cognition: Evolution, Psychology Annotated Bibliography.

Animal Cognition: Annotated Bibliography
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Animal Cognition: Annotated Bibliography
Introduction
The aim of this research is to investigate animal cognition and relate to the debate on the use animals in scientific studies. The field of animal cognition has been advanced by a number of disciplines, including cognitive sciences, animal learning and behavior, behavioral ecology, ethology, evolutionary psychology, and comparative psychology. Animal cognition seeks to describe the mental faculties of animals and how animals process and use the information they derive from their immediate environment. In particular, this research will assess the philosophical and ethological aspects of animal cognition using the past and existing knowledge. Ways of testing animal cognition provide means of understanding the subject and using the theory of mind in both animals and humans will be critical in drawing conclusions in regards to the question of animal cognition and animal experimentation (Marino & Christina, 2015). Conclusion from this research will serve as an invaluable reference while formulating policies that protect animals from cruel treatment in scientific laboratories.
Allen, C. (1998). Assessing animal cognition: ethological and philosophical perspectives. Journal of Animal Science, 76(1), 42-47.
Over recent times, animal cognition has been done in scientific laboratories. Consequently, animal scientists have faced scrutiny over the treatment of animals and the atrocities the species face. This process results in questions over the philosophical and ethological attributions in the study of animal cognition. It is an ordinary expectation that animals used in these studies will be subjected to both great and uncouth methods in the quest to extract answers, but then questions linger on whether there are better methods toarticulate these procedures. It is a public concern and thus, animal scientists need to provide justifications as to what they do and defend possible consequences.
Ethologists can offer animal scientists a lesson or two when it comes to handling animals because they incorporate evolutionary and comparative perspectives in their study of animal cognition and mentality. These professionals have become acquainted with naturalistic and laboratory techniques of observation and experimentation when conducting and revealing their deductions related to the cognitive and mental properties of nonhuman animals. The philosophy of mind and that of science are quite complementary and the coordination of the two creates a firm methodological and philosophical foundation. Scientists and philosophers have a great connection and can work together to extrapolate better experimental mechanisms and eventually, results.
Allen makes the utmost sense in the manner that he outlines the ensuing ethical aspect of animal cognition. Even if human beings must expand their knowledge inthis field of study, animal scientists and their methods of inquiry have been questioned. The concern arises from the mere fact that these procedures are unethical and pose a significant danger to the animals. Therefore, Allen's aspect contributes to the quality and quantity of knowledge surrounding this discipline.
Beran, M. J., et al. (2014). Comparative cognition: past, present, and future. International Journal of Comparative Psychology/ISCP; Sponsored by the International Society for Comparative Psychology and the University of Calabria, 27(1), 1-33.
Comparative cognition is an exquisite field that aims to expand the understanding that belies cognitive abilities apparent in non-human species. This area has received considerable attention, but then recently, the relative attention has surged up as many scholars seek to broaden the phylogenetic map of animal cognition. It is so that thisprocess is analyzed historically. This paper offers a historical perspective of the different deviations that comparative psychology has taken over the years. In essence, the first historical benchmark that culminated in the conception of comparative psychology was the belief that different species shared specific psychological qualities, attributes, and processes. Darwin shared the same view when he highlighted that there were certain biological and psychological shared among species and accounted for their increase in intelligence relative to the changing environment.
Conventionally, this line of study has relied upon apparatus innovations as the sole landmarks in this journey. Apparatus and paradigms used in the process are equally important in that they create a systematic way in which answers can be attained. The role of animal intelligence cannot be understated as it has engineered the progress of thisprocess in a clinical trial-and-error way of learning. Over the years one will understand that this process has had its share of accomplishments and failures, which is a similar expectation and apparent in other topics with human animals. Moreover, Beran and his colleagues provide the various criticism leveled against various stages of comparative cognition over time.
This work lays a very strong foundation for a student and academicians with a keen interest in the animal study. One outstanding aspect of the paper is the exceptional inclusion of different works from experts who have had a major impact in this field. The mere act of synthesizing these works gives the report significant credibility. These works highlight comparative cognition over the years and also, offer possible criticism that underlies any aspect of the field.
Marino, L., & Christina, M.C. (2015). Thinking pigs: a comparative review of cognition, emotion, and personality in Sus domesticus. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 28, 1-22.
Animal cognition extends beyond the mere study of singular elements of the area to include precise cases of animals. Marion and Colvin have alighted animation cognition in relation to domesticated pigs. People may be aware of the existence of the animal cognition discipline, but then it is until they can apply in real-life then it remains useless information. In this regard, Marino and Colvin note that the psychological aspect of domesticated pigs is rarely known and this forms the foundation of their research. According to the authors, these animals are cognitively complicated. In the same line of thought, pigs share considerable intelligence with other animals.
These two aspects form the basis for the subsequent literature in this article. Both authors endear to illustrate the cognitive levels of domesticated pigs in an independent of the management and livestock production setting. Secondly, the authors outline areas that they think come short when it comes to the cognitive aspect of pigs and thus, the need for more investigation. The text continues to highlight other important areas of comparative psychology, which include personality, emotion, self-awareness., and nonsocial and social cognition in domesticated pigs. For instance, pigs have profound internal timing mechanisms ap...