Csibra Gergely
School of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK.
Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 Mar;11(3):95-6. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2006.12.001. Epub 2007 Jan 22.
Three recent studies challenge the apparent consensus about the absence of teaching in non-human animals by providing evidence that certain behaviours of ants, birds and mammals satisfy a strict definition of teaching. However, these behaviours, although capable of facilitating information or skill acquisition in youngsters, could not support the transmission of cultural knowledge across individuals, which human teaching arguably serves.