Yoerg S I
Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003.
Q Rev Biol. 1991 Sep;66(3):287-301. doi: 10.1086/417243.
Cognitive psychology is the study of how information, from the senses and from memory, is used in the production of behavior. Investigation of the specifics of behavioral adaptation has already led some behavioral ecologists into the domain of animal cognition. I make several arguments for the benefits and the necessity of a sophisticated assessment by ecologists of the cognitive aspects of behavioral adaptation. First, because cognition typically serves to produce adaptive behavior, cognitive structure and function should reflect ecological demands; studies of cognition in ecological contexts are opportunities to understand adaptation. Furthermore, constraints on cognitive properties may help determine how behavior meets the environment. Studies of spatial memory in food-caching corvids exemplify how cognitive aspects of behavior may both reflect and determine specifics of adaptation. Second, many models in behavioral ecology assume certain cognitive abilities, such as timing or counting. Cognitive theory and methodology should be used to determine whether animals possess these abilities. I have provided examples. Third, consideration of cognitive function can lead to original ideas about the details of behavioral adaptation. Without a thorough integration of cognitive psychology with behavioral ecology, our understanding of the relation between behavior and selective pressures will be compromised.
认知心理学研究的是来自感官和记忆的信息如何用于产生行为。对行为适应性具体细节的研究已经使一些行为生态学家进入了动物认知领域。我提出了几个论据，说明生态学家对行为适应性的认知方面进行深入评估的益处和必要性。首先，由于认知通常用于产生适应性行为，认知结构和功能应反映生态需求；在生态环境中研究认知是理解适应性的机会。此外，对认知特性的限制可能有助于确定行为如何适应环境。对贮藏食物的鸦科鸟类空间记忆的研究例证了行为的认知方面如何既反映又决定适应性的具体细节。其次，行为生态学中的许多模型都假定了某些认知能力，如计时或计数。应运用认知理论和方法来确定动物是否具备这些能力。我已给出了例子。第三，考虑认知功能可以产生关于行为适应性细节的原创性观点。如果不将认知心理学与行为生态学彻底整合，我们对行为与选择压力之间关系的理解将会受到损害。
