Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2009 - Volume 32, Issue 02  

Cambridge Journals Online - CUP Full-Text Page
Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2009), 32:203-204 Cambridge University Press
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009
doi:10.1017/S0140525X09000910

Open Peer Commentary

Rats and infants as propositional reasoners: A plausible possibility?

Leyre Castroa1 and Edward A. Wassermana1

a1 Department of Psychology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. leyre-castroruiz@uiowa.edu ed-wasserman@uiowa.edu http://www.psychology.uiowa.edu/
Article author query
castro l [PubMed]  [Google Scholar]
wasserman ea [PubMed]  [Google Scholar]

Abstract

Mitchell et al. contemplate the possibility of rats being capable of propositional reasoning. We suggest that this is an unlikely and unsubstantiated possibility. Nonhuman animals and human infants do learn about the contingencies in the world; however, such learning seems not to be based on propositional reasoning, but on more elementary associative processes.

The propositional nature of human associative learning Chris J. Mitchell, Jan De Houwer and Peter F. Lovibond School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Kensington 2052, Australia chris.mitchell@unsw.edu.au http://www.psy.unsw.edu.au/profiles/cmitchell.html; Department of Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium jan.dehouwer@ugent.be http://users.ugent.be/~jdhouwer/">; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Kensington 2052, Australia p.lovibond@unsw.edu.au http://www.psy.unsw.edu.au/profiles/plovibond.html">