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3 - Symbolic Communication in the Grey Parrot

from Part I - Communication and Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2021

By
Irene M. Pepperberg
Edited by
Allison B. Kaufman ,
Josep Call  and
James C. Kaufman
Allison B. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Josep Call
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Summary

Decades ago, Premack (1978) hypothesized that nonhuman subjects that could acquire symbolic representation and communication would process information differently from those that could not. He argued that such processing would enable such subjects to perform more complicated cognitive tasks than those without such processing, and at levels comparable to those of young children, if not adult humans. Finally, he claimed that such acquisition and processing would likely be limited to nonhuman primates. Studies over the past 40 years, involving Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), have shown that Premack’s basic premise concerning the effects of symbolic representation was correct, but that the acquisition and use of symbolic representation to solve complex problems goes well beyond the primate line. I document how acquisition of symbolic representation and communication has enabled these parrots to perform at levels beyond those of some nonhuman primates and at levels equivalent to four-to- seven-year-old children.

Keywords

parrot cognitionparrot intelligenceavian intelligenceavian referential communicationnonhuman symbolic communicationsymbolic representation
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Animal Cognition , pp. 56 - 73
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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