A Modular Mind? A Test Using Individual Data from Seven Primate Species

Amici, Federica; Barney, Bradley J.; Johnson, Valen E.; Call, Josep; Aureli, Filippo

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051918

Cited by 51 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…An in-depth discussion of our findings in light of other research on nonhuman primates was previously provided by Amici et al (2012). However, we note that Johnson et al (2002) did not find strong evidence of genus*domain interactions in their meta-analysis of primate cognition (though genus effects were included), although Banerjee et al (2009), using rank data analyses similar to those proposed in Johnson et al (2002), did report evidence of genus*domain interactions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Evidence of domain-specific factors would provide support for the idea that specific cognitive skills evolve independently, possibly in response to specific socio-ecological demands (see Amici et al 2012;Banerjee et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Full details of the data collection process, historical context, and a summary of results are contained in Amici et al (2012). We restrict attention herein to those issues most pertinent towards the statistical methodology used to analyze these data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Joint Bayesian Modeling of Binomial and Rank Data for Primate Cognition

Barney¹,

Amici

Aureli³

et al. 2015

Journal of the American Statistical Association

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In recent years, substantial effort has been devoted to methods for analyzing data containing mixed response types, but such techniques typically do not include rank data among the response types. Some unique challenges exist in analyzing rank data, particularly when ties are prevalent. We present techniques for jointly modeling binomial and rank data using Bayesian latent variable models. We apply these techniques to compare the cognitive abilities of non-human primates based on their performance on 17 cognitive tasks scored on either a rank or binomial scale. In order to jointly model the rank and binomial responses, we assume that responses are implicitly determined by latent cognitive abilities. We then model the latent variables using random effects models, with identifying restrictions chosen to promote parsimonious prior specification and model inferences. Results from the primate cognitive data are presented to illustrate the methodology. Our results suggest that the ordering of the cognitive abilities 1 of species varies significantly across tasks, suggesting a partially independent evolution of cognitive abilities in primates.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Joint Bayesian Modeling of Binomial and Rank Data for Primate Cognition

Barney¹,

Amici

Aureli³

et al. 2015

Journal of the American Statistical Association

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“…These findings are especially surprising given that both the percentage of fruit in the diet and social group size correlate positively with neocortex ratio in anthropoid primates (86,142). Our findings suggest that the effect of social and ecological complexity may be limited to influencing more specialized, and potentially domain-specific forms of cognition (188)(189)(190)(191)(192)(193)(194)(195)(196). For example, among lemurs, sensitivity to cues of visual attention used to outcompete others for food covaries positively with social group size, whereas a nonsocial measure of self-control does not (146).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The evolution of self-control

MacLean¹,

Hare

Nunn³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Cognition presents evolutionary research with one of its greatest challenges. Cognitive evolution has been explained at the proximate level by shifts in absolute and relative brain volume and at the ultimate level by differences in social and dietary complexity. However, no study has integrated the experimental and phylogenetic approach at the scale required to rigorously test these explanations. Instead, previous research has largely relied on various measures of brain size as proxies for cognitive abilities. We experimentally evaluated these major evolutionary explanations by quantitatively comparing the cognitive performance of 567 individuals representing 36 species on two problem-solving tasks measuring self-control. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that absolute brain volume best predicted performance across species and accounted for considerably more variance than brain volume controlling for body mass. This result corroborates recent advances in evolutionary neurobiology and illustrates the cognitive consequences of cortical reorganization through increases in brain volume. Within primates, dietary breadth but not social group size was a strong predictor of species differences in self-control. Our results implicate robust evolutionary relationships between dietary breadth, absolute brain volume, and self-control. These findings provide a significant first step toward quantifying the primate cognitive phenome and explaining the process of cognitive evolution.psychology | behavior | comparative methods | inhibitory control | executive function S ince Darwin, understanding the evolution of cognition has been widely regarded as one of the greatest challenges for evolutionary research (1). Although researchers have identified surprising cognitive flexibility in a range of species (2-40) and potentially derived features of human psychology (41-61), we know much less about the major forces shaping cognitive evolution (62-71). With the notable exception of Bitterman's landmark studies conducted several decades ago (63, 72-74), most research comparing cognition across species has been limited to small taxonomic samples (70, 75). With limited comparable experimental data on how cognition varies across species, previous research has largely relied on proxies for cognition (e.g., brain size) or metaanalyses when testing hypotheses about cognitive evolution (76-92). The lack of cognitive data collected with similar methods across large samples of species precludes meaningful species comparisons that can reveal the major forces shaping cognitive evolution across species, including humans (48,70,89,(93)(94)(95)(96)(97)(98). SignificanceAlthough scientists have identified surprising cognitive flexibility in animals and potentially unique features of human psychology, we know less about the selective forces that favor cognitive evolution, or the proximate biological mechanisms underlying this process. We tested 36 species in two problemsolving tasks measuring self-control and evaluated the leading hypotheses regarding how ...

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“…In nonhuman animals, positive correlations between performance scores on tasks assessing different types of learning have been documented in honeybees, Apis mellifera (Chandra, Hosler, & Smith, 2000) and feral pigeons, Columba livia (Bouchard, Goodyer, & Lefebvre, 2007), while cognitive test batteries have been developed to test for g in several primate species (Amici, Barney, Johnson, Call, & Aureli, 2012;Banerjee et al, 2009;Herrmann, Call, Hern andez-Lloreda, Hare, & Tomasello, 2007;Schmitt, Pankau, & Fischer, 2012) and in mice, Mus musculus (Galsworthy et al, 2005;Locurto, Fortin, & Sullivan, 2003;Matzel et al, 2003). However, the specific tasks used in a test battery may have implications for interpreting correlations between performance scores.…”

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confidence: 99%

Wild psychometrics: evidence for ‘general’ cognitive performance in wild New Zealand robins, Petroica longipes

et al. 2015

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Keywords: cognitive test battery g general intelligence factor individual variation Petroica longipesIn human psychometric testing, individuals' scores in tests of diverse cognitive processes are positively correlated, with a 'general intelligence' factor (g) typically accounting for at least 40% of total variance. Individual differences in cognitive ability have been extensively studied in humans, yet they have received far less attention in nonhuman animals. In particular, the development of a test battery suitable for quantifying individual cognitive performance in birds remains in its infancy. Additionally, implementing this approach in the wild, where the ecological significance of cognition can also be explored, presents considerable logistical challenges for most species. We developed a cognitive test battery for wild New Zealand North Island robins. Our battery comprised six tasks based on established measures of avian cognitive performance: a motor task, colour and shape discrimination, reversal learning, spatial memory and inhibitory control. Robins varied greatly in their ability to solve these tasks and we found weakly positive, nonsignificant correlations between most tasks. A principal components analysis of task performances yielded two factors with eigenvalues >1. The first component extracted explained over 34% of the variance in cognitive performance and all six tasks loaded positively on this first component. We show, using randomization tests, that these results are robust. Our results thus suggest that a general cognitive factor, analogous to human g, underpins cognitive performance in wild North Island robins tested in their natural habitat.

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A Modular Mind? A Test Using Individual Data from Seven Primate Species

Cited by 51 publications

References 61 publications

Joint Bayesian Modeling of Binomial and Rank Data for Primate Cognition

Joint Bayesian Modeling of Binomial and Rank Data for Primate Cognition

The evolution of self-control

Wild psychometrics: evidence for ‘general’ cognitive performance in wild New Zealand robins, Petroica longipes

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