ABSTRACT
Comparative cognition is built on the assumption that the representation, organization, and processing of mental activity is shaped by natural selection. The field emerged as an independent discipline in the late 20th century, integrating perspectives from behavioural psychology and evolutionary biology, and driven by advances in cognitive science. Contemporary work in comparative cognition can inform discussions of cognitive operations by describing the relationship between domain-general and domain-specific processes across species. The challenges facing researchers in this field are not new: they include the difficulty in linking behavioral measures to specific cognitive processes in non-verbal subjects, the necessity of testing a wide range of species in the face of declining biodiversity, and a paucity of data on developmental changes in non-captive animals. In sum, comparative cognition is directed towards understanding the evolution of cognition, but has the potential to uncover new principles of cognitive organization and how these are manifested in phylogenetic relationships.
