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Primate ontogeny, cognition and social behavior
Behavioural
Processes,
16 (1988) 127 - 133
127
Elsevier Book
Reviews
Primate
Ontogeny,
Cognition
and
Social
Behaviour.
J.G.
Else
and
P.C.
Lee,
Eds. Cambridge University Press. 1986. 410 pp. ISBN: O-521-32452-1 H/c (price: f 37.50, S 59.50); 0-521-31013-X P/b (E 12.50, S 19.951.
This book is part of a series (of 3 volumes) which publishes a selection of papers presented at the 10th Congress of the International Primatological Society (Nairobi. Kenya, July 19841. The book comprises six sections covering the different fields of cognition ("Primate Thinking. "Primate Behaviour and Cognition in Nature”, "Growth, Ilanipulationand Communication", "Functional Aspects of Development", Social Interactions". "Social and Reproductive Strategies"). All sections are preceded by a useful introduction. The mere existence of the book reflects the renewed interest for the development of cognition and social behaviour in primates, which is nicely synthetized by the chapter of H.O. Box and D.PI. Fragaszy tackling the "interfacing between the development of social behaviour and that of cognitive abilities". Admittedly, one does not expect the papers delivered at an international meeting to necessarily cover all the topics in a particular domain. However, one can regret that important and original studies on social cognition, such as those made by Cheney and Seyfarth on vervet monkeys, are not presented in the volume. The explicit policy of the editors was to keep the papers short (the book comprises 42 chapters amounting to 400 pages), which indeed prevents any thorough discussion either of the data or of the concepts used by the authors. Anyhow. the purpose of the editors to offer a presentation of so many different approaches in this fast growing field of primatology is perfectly achieved. The book can be recommended to graduate students in ethology, psychology, anthropology. but also to all researchers who wish to be more informed about current studies on primate cognition, particularly on the way primates perceive and communicate in their social environment
Jacques Vauclair C.N.R.S. - L.H.F. 31, ch. Joseph-Aiguier 13402 PIarseilleCedex 9 (France)
Processes,
16 (1988) 127 - 133
127
Elsevier Book
Reviews
Primate
Ontogeny,
Cognition
and
Social
Behaviour.
J.G.
Else
and
P.C.
Lee,
Eds. Cambridge University Press. 1986. 410 pp. ISBN: O-521-32452-1 H/c (price: f 37.50, S 59.50); 0-521-31013-X P/b (E 12.50, S 19.951.
This book is part of a series (of 3 volumes) which publishes a selection of papers presented at the 10th Congress of the International Primatological Society (Nairobi. Kenya, July 19841. The book comprises six sections covering the different fields of cognition ("Primate Thinking. "Primate Behaviour and Cognition in Nature”, "Growth, Ilanipulationand Communication", "Functional Aspects of Development", Social Interactions". "Social and Reproductive Strategies"). All sections are preceded by a useful introduction. The mere existence of the book reflects the renewed interest for the development of cognition and social behaviour in primates, which is nicely synthetized by the chapter of H.O. Box and D.PI. Fragaszy tackling the "interfacing between the development of social behaviour and that of cognitive abilities". Admittedly, one does not expect the papers delivered at an international meeting to necessarily cover all the topics in a particular domain. However, one can regret that important and original studies on social cognition, such as those made by Cheney and Seyfarth on vervet monkeys, are not presented in the volume. The explicit policy of the editors was to keep the papers short (the book comprises 42 chapters amounting to 400 pages), which indeed prevents any thorough discussion either of the data or of the concepts used by the authors. Anyhow. the purpose of the editors to offer a presentation of so many different approaches in this fast growing field of primatology is perfectly achieved. The book can be recommended to graduate students in ethology, psychology, anthropology. but also to all researchers who wish to be more informed about current studies on primate cognition, particularly on the way primates perceive and communicate in their social environment
Jacques Vauclair C.N.R.S. - L.H.F. 31, ch. Joseph-Aiguier 13402 PIarseilleCedex 9 (France)