
How to Study Animal Minds
Kristin Andrews(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 25. June 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
86 pages
978-1-108-72746-4 (ISBN)
Description
Comparative psychology, the multidisciplinary study of animal behavior and psychology, confronts the challenge of how to study animals we find cute and easy to anthropomorphize, and animals we find odd and easy to objectify, without letting these biases negatively impact the science. In this Element, Kristin Andrews identifies and critically examines the principles of comparative psychology and shows how they can introduce other biases by objectifying animal subjects and encouraging scientists to remain detached. Andrews outlines the scientific benefits of treating animals as sentient research participants who come from their own social contexts and with whom we will be in relationship. With discussions of science's quest for objectivity, worries about romantic and killjoy theories, and debates about chimpanzee cognition between primatologists who work in the field and those in the lab, Andrews shows how scientists can address the different biases through greater integration of the subdisciplines of comparative psychology.
Reviews / Votes
'Andrews weaves an impressive thread through topics in the philosophy of mind, science, and psychology ... The argumentative scope is impressive given the size of the book. Andrews also masterfully combines depth with accessibility in ways that make this an excellent text for either advanced undergraduates or graduate students.' MetascienceMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
136 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-72746-4 (9781108727464)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Kristin Andrews
How to Study Animal Minds
E-Book
06/2020
Cambridge University Press
€15.49
Available for download
Person
Kristin Andrews is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Director of the Cognitive Science Program at York University, Canada. She is the author of Do Apes Read Minds? Toward a New Folk Psychology (2012), and editor of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Animal Cognition.
Content
Introduction; 1. Method in Comparative Psychology; 2. Conscious Animals in Comparative Psychology; 3. Objectiveity and Bias in Comparative Psychology; 4. Bias in Ape Cognition Studies.