ABSTRACT
Comparative psychology was initially estab lished as a research program designed to trace the evolutionary origins of higher mental ca pacities. It came about at the instigation of Romanes (1884), who thought that the new evolutionary theory made it possible to address this most difficult question scientifically. Today the field is best described as a multidisciplinary enterprise committed to the study of the biologi cal, behavioral, psychological, and social as pects of adaptive behaviors, from the stand point both of their evolution and of their development.
