Parsimonious explanations and wider evolutionary consequences

TitleParsimonious explanations and wider evolutionary consequences
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of PublicationSubmitted
AuthorsJames E. King
JournalBehavioral & Brain Sciences
Volume26
Issue3
Pagination347-348
ISSN0140525X
Abstract

The uncertainty response adds an important new dimension to conventional animal learning and memory studies. Although the uncertainty response by monkeys and dolphins resembled that of humans, parsimony alone does not necessarily indicate that the monkeys and dolphins had a full self-awareness. However, the uncertain response may be an index of an evolutionary precursor to full self-awareness of uncertainty and a theory of mind. Studies of two-choice problems including memory discrimination and matching tasks have a long and venerable history in animal learning research.