Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
14:14
The Innovation Arena: A Method for Comparing Innovative Problem-Solving Across Groups
Published on: May 13, 2022
Animal cognition: crows spontaneously solve a metatool task
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK. n.clayton@psychol.cam.ac.uk
Current Biology : CB
|October 25, 2007
Abstract:
A recent study found that tool-manufacturing New Caledonian crows spontaneously solved a metatool task in which the birds used a tool to obtain a second, longer tool that could then be used to obtain food that was otherwise out of reach.
Related Concept Videos
00:48Optimal Foraging
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
01:21Cognitive Learning
Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...