Our tendency towards rich interpretations of behaviour is common. Pigeons, however, can solve the same complicated tasks that are solved by primates, and often do so in a manner indistinguishable from primates. If we richly interpret human behaviour, or primate behaviour in general, yet find the exact same signatures of that behaviour in pigeons, we should question whether our rich interpretation is warranted. By understanding how different animals solve complex tasks we can gain a better insight into how humans may be solving those same tasks and potentially avoid the theoretical pitfalls of rich interpretations. We frequently richly interpret human or primate behaviour, yet find the exact same signatures of that behaviour in pigeons. This Comment argues that understanding how different animals solve complex tasks gives us better insight into how humans may be solving those same tasks and potentially avoid the theoretical pitfalls of rich interpretations.
Michael Colombo (Fri,) studied this question.