Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive 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...

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...

Cognitivism

Cognitivism

Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...

Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition

Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition

A revisionist approach to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has brought new insights that challenge and reinterpret his established ideas. Piaget proposed that the formal operational stage, emerging in adolescence, represents the culmination of cognitive maturity. During this stage, individuals are said to develop abstract thinking, engage in systematic problem-solving, and show a form of egocentrism, believing others are as preoccupied with their behavior as they are...

Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Cognitive psychologist Richard Lazarus proposed the cognitive-mediational theory of emotions, which emphasizes how individuals' assessments of stressors significantly affect their experience of stress. According to Lazarus, the stress response is determined by a two-step appraisal process: primary appraisal and secondary appraisal. These cognitive appraisals help individuals evaluate the potential impact of a stressor and determine the adequacy of their coping resources.
Primary Appraisal:...

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Practical Approach to the Assessment of Technical Scanning Skills in Transthoracic Echocardiography.

The Canadian journal of cardiology·2026

Same author

Sex differences in echocardiographic left ventricular remodeling and clinical outcomes following transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Journal of echocardiography·2026

Same author

Consensus-Based Marking Schemes to Assess Competence Using Free-Text Echocardiogram Summary Statements.

CJC open·2026

Same author

Learning to Scan: Approach to Teaching Technical Skills in Transthoracic Echocardiography.

The Canadian journal of cardiology·2026

Same author

Real-time Dual Sensing of cTnI and Myoglobin via Printable Graphitized Electrodes.

IEEE transactions on nanobioscience·2026

Same author

Female Affiliation and Status in Semi-Free-Ranging Chimpanzees.

American journal of biological anthropology·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 3, 2025

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

The Evolution of Cognitive Control in Lemurs.

Francesca De Petrillo^1,2,3, Parvathy Nair¹, Averill Cantwell¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Michigan.

Psychological Science

|July 25, 2022

Summary

Ecological factors, not social ones, best explain the evolution of cognitive control (executive function) in lemur species. This research helps understand the origins of complex cognition in primates.

Keywords:

cognitive evolution comparative cognition executive function open materials preregistered primates

More Related Videos

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

Published on: April 15, 2014

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Published on: February 15, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 3, 2025

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

Published on: April 15, 2014

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Published on: February 15, 2015

Area of Science:

Primate Cognition
Evolutionary Psychology
Comparative Cognition

Background:

Cognitive control (executive function) is crucial for planning and adapting to change.
Understanding the evolution of advanced executive functions, like those in humans, requires studying nonhuman primates.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the evolutionary drivers of cognitive control in lemur species.
To identify whether ecological or social factors are more influential in shaping executive functions.

Main Methods:

Developed a novel cognitive test battery measuring temporal discounting, motor inhibition, memory, learning, and persistence.
Tested four lemur species (ruffed lemurs, Coquerel's sifakas, ring-tailed lemurs, mongoose lemurs) with varying ecological and social structures.

Main Results:

Ecological characteristics significantly predicted cognitive control patterns across lemur species.
Social characteristics did not show a similar predictive relationship with cognitive control.

Conclusions:

Ecological factors appear to be primary drivers in the evolution of primate cognitive control.
Integrating cognitive data with natural history is essential for understanding the origins of complex cognition.