ABSTRACT
This chapter justifies the existence of some psychological property in animals should come from a convergence of good empirical evidence and careful conceptual analysis, and this is also true for cognitive capacities such as mindreading. As research continues on the question of whether other animals consider the beliefs, perceptions, emotions, or personality traits of others, researchers can develop a body of data that can be used to make inference to the best explanation arguments for the existence, or nonexistence, of these abilities. As part of their investigation into the nature of nonhuman social cognitive abilities and the distribution of abilities across species, they should also look at the development of the various associated skills in human children. As in the canid research, where pound dogs are tested alongside pets, and wolves habituated to humans are compared to wild wolves, the population differences and similarities between captive and wild apes, and apes in different social situations, can be investigated.
