Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2007 - Volume 30, Issue 04  

Open Peer Commentary

The animal variations: When mechanisms matter in accounting for function

Hugo Vicianaa1 and Nicolas Claidierea2

a1 Grupo de Evolucion y Cognicion Humana, Universidad de las Islas Baleares, Palma, 07012, Islas Baleares, Spain; Hugo.Viciana@ens.fr http://www.evocog.com

a2 Institut Jean Nicod, Pavillon Jardin, École Normale Superieure, 75005 Paris, France. Nicolas.Claidiere@normalesup.org http://www.institutnicod.org/

Abstract

We contend that Ramsey et al.'s definition of animal innovation sensu process may be partially misleading when investigating mechanisms underlying animal innovation. By excluding social learning from the “process” of innovation, they may be reproducing a dichotomous schema that does not accurately correspond to our knowledge of the acquisition of novel behavioral variants. This gives us some reason to doubt the functional specification of the defined process of innovation.

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