Using robots to understand animal cognition

Frohnwieser, Anna; Murray, John C.; Pike, Thomas W.; Wilkinson, Anna

Abstract

In recent years, robotic animals and humans have been used to answer a variety of questions related to behavior. In the case of animal behavior, these efforts have largely been in the field of behavioral ecology. They have proved to be a useful tool for this enterprise as they allow the presentation of naturalistic social stimuli whilst providing the experimenter with full control of the stimulus. In interactive experiments, the behavior of robots can be controlled in a manner that is impossible with real animals, making them ideal instruments for the study of social stimuli in animals. This paper provides an overview of the current state of the field and considers the impact that the use of robots could have on fundamental questions related to comparative psychology: namely, perception, spatial cognition, social cognition, and early cognitive development. We make the case that the use of robots to investigate these key areas could have an important impact on the field of animal cognition.

Citation

Frohnwieser, A., Murray, J. C., Pike, T. W., & Wilkinson, A. (2016). Using robots to understand animal cognition. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 105(1), 14-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.193

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Nov 24, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 18, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 18, 2016
• Deposit Date: Oct 25, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 27, 2022
• Journal: Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
• Print ISSN: 1938-3711
• Electronic ISSN: 1938-3711
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 105
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 14-22
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.193
• Keywords: Robot; Animal cognition; Perception; Spatial cognition; Social cognition; Developmental cognition
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/799524
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jeab.193
• Related Public URLs: http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/19596/