Causal Reasoning in Rats (Blaisdell et al. 2006)

Synonyms

Bayes net theory; Causal inferences; Causal-model theory

Definition

The process of identifying and understanding the relationships among causes and their effects.

Introduction

As descendants of Darwin, contemporary psychologists who study animal learning try to identify continuity in species’ cognitive and problem-solving abilities. As descendants of Galileo, these same psychologists prefer to study animal learning in laboratory environments that have been standardized to reduce unwanted behaviors and automated to facilitate the presentation of stimuli and the recording of responses. It was within these traditions that Blaisdell et al. (2006) conducted three experiments to demonstrate that rats were capable of causal reasoning, a form of thinking thought possible only by humans.

The type of reasoning studied by Blaisdell et al. is often illustrated by two analogies. The first analogy illustrates reasoning about a common cause: A change in atmospheric pressure causes...