Decision-Making: Are Plants More Rational than Animals?

Schmid, Bernhard

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.05.073

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Plants can also demonstrate sensitivity to risk; namely, they can make adaptive decisions that take into account environmental variance, an ability previously ascribed only to the animal kingdom. For instance, during one study, the roots of pea plants were split between two pots, hence facing the decision of which pot to prioritize (Dener, Kacelnik, & Shemesh, 2016; Schmid, 2016). The results indicated that the plants grew more roots in the pot with higher levels of nutrients, showing an adaptive response similar to that exhibited by animals assigning superior foraging effort to richer food patches.…”

Section: Making Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Re)claiming plants in comparative psychology.

Castiello

2021

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Up until the middle of the 19th century, some data about plant behavior could be found in books dealing with comparative psychology. The tendency gradually faded away, and the topic was almost exclusively treated in literature dealing with plant physiology. In recent years, however, there has been a revamping of psychological terminology and theorizing to describe, explain, and formulate hypotheses on the evidence that many of the sophisticated behaviors plants exhibit are an expression of cognitive competences that are generally attributed to human and nonhuman animals. In this work I shall discuss a selection of experimental studies supporting the idea that plants could be defined as cognitive agents. Experiments showing that the behavior of plants is controlled by a representation of its goal, episodic-like memory, and decision-making will be described. It is not, however, my intention to embrace any position as to whether or to what degree plants are conscious. Rather, I hope to (re)fuel the discussion within the psychological community that will point in the direction of integrating studies concerning adaptive plant behavior within the wider field of comparative psychology.

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Section: Making Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Re)claiming plants in comparative psychology.

Castiello

2021

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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“…Whereas human judgment and decisionmaking is subject to many forms of probabilistic, logical and decision-theoretic incoherence (Kahneman et al 1982;Gilovich et al 2002), many of these errors are less-often found in animal cognition, and they are most frequently documented in relatively sophisticated animals (Krupenye et al 2015;Marsh and Kacelnik 2002). This trend continues down to the limiting case of plant cognition, in which no credible incoherence has been documented (Schmid 2016).…”

Section: Coherence and Cognitive Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Accuracy–Coherence Trade-Off in Cognition

Thorstad¹

2024

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

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I argue that bounded agents face a systematic accuracy-coherence tradeoff in cognition.Agents must choose whether to structure their cognition in ways likely to promote coherence or accuracy. I illustrate the accuracy-coherence tradeoff by showing how it arises out of at least two component tradeoffs: a coherence-complexity tradeoff between coherence and cognitive complexity, and a coherence-variety tradeoff between coherence and strategic variety. These tradeoffs give rise to an accuracy-coherence tradeoff because privileging coherence over complexity or strategic variety often leads to a corresponding reduction in accuracy. I conclude with a discussion of two normative consequences for the study of bounded rationality: the importance of procedural rationality and the role of coherence in theories of bounded rationality.

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“…Commenting on these empirical findings, Schmid (2016) goes as far as to claim that they indicate that when faced with choices concerning different environmental conditions, plants make rational decisions in favor of the option that maximizes their fitness. For him, this implies that "theories of decision making and optimal behavior developed for animals and humans can be applied to plants" (p. R677).…”

Section: Risk Sensitivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Consciousness and cognition in plants

Segundo-Ortin

Calvo

2021

WIRES Cognitive Science

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Unlike animal behavior, behavior in plants is traditionally assumed to be completely determined either genetically or environmentally. Under this assumption, plants are usually considered to be noncognitive organisms. This view nonetheless clashes with a growing body of empirical research that shows that many sophisticated cognitive capabilities traditionally assumed to be exclusive to animals are exhibited by plants too. Yet, if plants can be considered cognitive, even in a minimal sense, can they also be considered conscious? Some authors defend that the quest for plant consciousness is worth pursuing, under the premise that sentience can play a role in facilitating plant's sophisticated behavior. The goal of this article is not to provide a positive argument for plant cognition and consciousness, but to invite a constructive, empirically informed debate about it. After reviewing the empirical literature concerning plant cognition, we introduce the reader to the emerging field of plant neurobiology. Research on plant electrical and chemical signaling can help shed light into the biological bases for plant sentience. To conclude, we shall present a series of approaches to scientifically investigate plant consciousness. In sum, we invite the reader to consider the idea that if consciousness boils down to some form of biological adaptation, we should not exclude a priori the possibility that plants have evolved their own phenomenal experience of the world.

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Decision-Making: Are Plants More Rational than Animals?

Abstract: A new study presents a novel experimental design and allows a test of risk sensitivity in plants. Faced with a choice between constant and variable resource supply, they make a rational decision for the option that maximizes fitness, a fact rarely observed in animals.

Cited by 17 publications

References 21 publications

(Re)claiming plants in comparative psychology.

(Re)claiming plants in comparative psychology.

The Accuracy–Coherence Trade-Off in Cognition

Consciousness and cognition in plants

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