Comparative Learning and Cognition

Mauricio R. Papini is Professor of Psychology at Texas Christian University, U.S.A.Kenneth J. Leising is Professor of Psychology at Texas Christian University, U.S.A.

"The book by Papini and Leising constitutes a valuable and comprehensive contribution to the study of the relationship between evolution and behavior across different species. It presents an updated and thorough view of comparative psychology, addressing evolutionary perspectives on learning processes and animal cognition. I highly recommend this book for researchers and students seeking to deepen their understanding of the evolution of biological, psychological, and social aspects related to animal behavior."Luis Gonzalo de la Casa, professor at Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain"This book offers a fresh and insightful perspective on comparative learning and cognition, grounding current research within a robust evolutionary framework. Clearly written and highly engaging, it will be an invaluable resource for both graduate seminars and advanced undergraduate courses. I look forward to incorporating it into my teaching."Suzanne E. MacDonald, professor at York University, Toronto, Canada"This textbook offers a precise and balanced introduction to learning and cognition across species. By focusing on behavioral mechanisms—such as association, reinforcement, timing, categorization, and communication—and grounding them in neurobiological evidence, it serves as a reliable resource for both students and experts in comparative cognition."Tetsuro Matsuzawa, primatologist and former director of the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute"Papini and Leising integrate evolution thoroughly into their updated discussion of animal learning, scaffolding the reader's understanding much like evolutionary processes scaffolded cognition from simple building blocks to more complex processes. This book presents a much needed integrative approach to comparative cognition and is a welcome addition to a sparse selection of comparative texts."Jennifer Vonk, Professor of Psychology at Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA"This is a remarkable book, remarkable for its solid grounding in evolutionary theory, for the breadth of its coverage (from behavioral plasticity in bacteria to language learning in primates), and for the depth of its scholarship, integrating behavioral and neural levels of analysis."Michael Domjan, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA, and Doctorem Honoris Causa, Konrad Lorenz University, Bogotá, Colombia

• About the AuthorsPart I: FoundationsChapter 1: Evolution: A context for comparative learning and cognition1 Evolution1.1 EvidenceMolecular evidenceEmbryologyAnatomyBiogeographyPaleontologyContemporary evidenceDomestication2 Natural selection and adaptation2.1 Logic of natural selection2.2 Natural selectionField observations and experiments2.3 Types of direct fitnessMeasuring Lifetime Reproductive Success (LRS)2.4 Natural selection and diversityTraits contributing to survivalCorrelated traitsDirect fitness and adaptation2.5 From morphology to behavior2.6 Sexual selection and the brain3 Diversity of life3.1 Taxonomy of life3.2 Animal phyla3.3 Ediacaran and Cambrian faunas3.4 Evolution of chordates3.5 HomininsEarly homininsHomoArchaic humansEarly and recent modern humans4 Evolution of the vertebrate brain and behavior4.1 Key innovations of vertebrates4.2 Agnathan brains4.3 Regions of the vertebrate brainSpinal cordRhombencephalon and mesencephalonDiencephalon4.4 TelencephalonSubdivisionsFish telencephalonStriatumLimbic systemOrigin and evolution of the cortex4.5 Principles of brain sizeSelective breeding for brain sizeRelative brain sizeComparative and developmental aspects of encephalizationBrain size and intelligenceBehavioral specializations and the brainGlossaryReferencesChapter 2: Fundamentals of stimulus control 1 Properties of a stimulus1.1 Evolutionary framework2 Stimulus control2.1 Response probabilityReflexes2.2 Response strength2.3 Associative learningClassical (or Pavlovian) conditioning.Operant (or instrumental) conditioningMotivational control of operant behaviorStimulus control of operant behavior2.4 Generalization and discrimination3 Stimulus control over other properties of behavior3.1 What does the behavior look like?3.2 When does the behavior occur?3.3 Where does the behavior occur?4 The nature of the reinforcer5 Contiguity, contingency, and relative validity6 Summing upGlossaryReferencesPart II: LearningChapter 3: Learning in simple systems1 Phenomena and mechanisms1.1 What is a learning phenomenon?1.2 Levels of mechanistic analysis1.3 Species similarity in learning phenomena1.4 Species differences in learning phenomena2 Invertebrate learning2.1 Cnidarian neurons2.2 The nervous systems of bilateral animals2.3 Properties of habituation2.4 Habituation in cnidarians3 Behavioral and neural plasticity in nonassociative learning3.1 Habituation and dishabituation3.2 Short-term and long-term habituation3.3 Neural basis of short-term habituation: C. elegans3.4 Neural basis of short-term habituation: A. californica3.5 Neural basis of long-term habituation: C. elegans3.6 Neural basis of long-term habituation: A. californica4 Cellular bases of sensitization4.1 Short-term sensitization4.2 Dishabituation and short-term sensitization in A. californica4.3 Long-term sensitization4.4 Evolution of sensitization in mollusks4.5 Generality of the neural mechanisms of nonassociative learning5 Associative learning and cognition in invertebrates5.1 Associative learning in basal invertebrates5.2 Associative learning in mollusks5.3 Associative learning in arthropods5.4 Learning mutants in fruit flies5.5 Invertebrate cognition5.6 Parallel evolution from common cell-molecular mechanisms6 Behavioral plasticity in aneural organisms6.1 Some conceptual issues6.2 Learning in aneural organismsBacteria and archaeonProtistsPlantsFungiBasal animal phyla6.3 What are nervous systems good for?GlossaryReferencesChapter 4: Associative learning: Acquisition1 Introduction2 Associative processes2.1 ContiguityContiguity in Pavlovian conditioningContiguity in operant conditioning2.2 Comparative and developmental generality of contiguity2.3 Learning/performance dichotomy2.4 What is learned in Pavlovian conditioning?2.5 What is learned in operant conditioning?2.6 Hierarchical associations: Occasion setting2.7 Neurobiology of stimulus contiguity in mammalsLong-term potentiation and depressionFrom brain slice to behaviorSàS and SàR associations in the brain3 Acquisition factors3.1 Beyond contiguity: Salience, magnitude, and temporal factors3.2 Signalàoutcome relevance3.3 Signal-context interactions3.4 Conditioned reinforcement3.5 Operant contingenciesPositive reinforcementPunishmentOmissionEscapeAvoidance4 Inhibitory conditioning4.1 Summation and retardation testsDetection issuesControl issuesReduced generalized excitationDifferential generalization of excitationAttentional enhancementAttentional decrementContextual blockingStimulus generalization decrement4.2 Neurobiology of inhibitory conditioning5 Schedules of reinforcement6 What is a reinforcer?7 Situational generality of associative learning7.1 Interoceptive CSs7.2 Sexual reinforcement7.3 Conditioned immunomodulation7.4 Conditioning of allergies7.5 Drug toleranceGlossaryReferencesChapter 5: Associative learning: Integration1 Introduction2 Extinction and learning2.1 Procedure, phenomenon, mechanism2.2 Unlearning vs. parallel associations3 Perception and learning3.1 Compound conditioning3.2 Overshadowing and blocking effects3.3 Signal-context interactions4 Attention and learning4.1 Latent inhibition4.2 Comparative studies of latent inhibition4.3 Intra- vs. extra-dimensional transfer4.4 Perceptual learning5 Motivation and learning5.1 Incentive value5.2 Wanting and liking6 Emotion and learning6.1 Fear/threat6.2 Neurobiology of fearSignal and contextual fearFear extinctionConsolidation and reconsolidation of fear memories6.3 FrustrationAftereffectsAnticipatory effectsComparative and developmental studies6.4 Frustration, memory update, and emotional activation6.5 Neurobiology of fear and frustration in vertebrates7 Choice and learning7.1 Matching7.2 Matching and drug dependence7.3 Undermatching, overmatching, and maximizing7.4 Delay discountingGlossaryReferencesChapter 6: Associative learning: Interactions1 Introduction2 Interactions between elicited and reinforced behaviors2.1 Equipotentiality2.2 Misbehavior2.3 Adjunctive behaviorBrain mechanisms of schedule-induced polydipsia2.4 A defensive response system3 Escape and avoidance learning3.1 Avoidance conditioning3.2 Escape conditioning3.3 Neurobiology of avoidance learning3.4 Learned helplessness4 Impulsivity and self-control4.1 The marshmallow test4.2 Self-control in other animals4.3 Substance-use disorders and impulsivity4.4 Neurobiology of substance use disordersReward circuitryWithdrawal symptoms and circuitry5 Pavlovian control of operant behavior5.1 Conditioned suppression of operant behavior5.2 Pavlovian-instrumental transferGeneral and specific transferNeurobiology of PITRelevance of PITGlossaryReferencesChapter 7: Social learning1 Introduction2 From individual to social learning2.1 Individual recognition2.2 Kin recognition2.3 Feeding and social learning2.4 Predator recognition2.5 Social reinforcement2.6 From social reinforcement to reproductive success2.7 Imitation3 Imprinting in precocial birds3.1 Properties3.2 Motivational factors3.3 Learning factors3.4 Neurobiology of imprinting3.5 Sexual imprinting3.6 Imprinting-like phenomena in other species4 Early social learning4.1 Attachment4.2 Attachment in primates4.3 Early social restriction5 Tool use and culture6 TeachingGlossaryReferencesPart III: CognitionChapter 8: Timing behavior1 Introduction: Cognition2 Circadian Timing2.1 Behavioral evidence2.2 Neurobiology of circadian rhythms3 Interval Timing 3.1 Scalar timing theoryTime-production tasksTime-perception tasks3.2 Oscillators and nonlinear timing3.3 Time as a stimulus propertyAcquisitionExtinctionPostextinction relapse of the CRCue competition and integration based on timing4 Where is timing in models of conditioning?5 Can nonhuman animals time travel?GlossaryReferencesChapter 9: Spatial behavior1 Introduction: Spatial behavior2 Migration and large-scale spatial behavior3 Small-scale navigation3.1 Path integration3.2 Beacon homing3.3 Route behavior3.4 Map-like spatial behavior4 Location as a stimulus property4.1 Acquisition and extinction4.2 Generalization and discrimination4.3 Cue competition5 Spatial integration6 Where is location in models of conditioning?7 Neurobiology of spatial behavior7.1 Insects7.2 MammalsGlossaryReferencesChapter 10: Categories, concepts, and numerical competence1 Conceptual behavior2 Generalization and discrimination revisited3 Acquired distinctiveness and equivalence3.1 Procedures3.2 Stimulus equivalence and emergent relations3.3 Real-world applications4 Multiple-exemplar training4.1 Perceptual categoriesBasic levelSubordinate levelSuperordinate level4.2 Relational categories4.3 Relation between relations5 Theories and models of conceptual behavior5.1 Linear feature models5.2 Exemplar theory5.3 Prototype theory5.4 Neurobiology and neural networks6 Numerical competence6.1 Approximate numerical magnitude6.2 CountingGlossaryReferencesChapter 11: Communication and language1 Animal signals2 Avian vocal learning2.1 Calls2.2 Vocal learning2.3 Age-dependent plasticity2.4 Dialects2.5 Age-independent plasticity2.6 Brain mechanisms avian song learningBrain circuitPatterns of gene expression2.7 From proximate to ultimate causation3 Referential calls in mammals4 Human language4.2 Properties4.2 Basic functions4.3 Verbal operantsIntraverbals, mands, and tacts5 Teaching language to nonhuman animals5.1 Brief history5.2 Language productionHand gesturesSymbols5.3 Language comprehension5.4 Language training in nonprimate speciesGlossaryReferences