Smarter Than You Think

How animals understand our world

Juliane Bräuer Ph.D.

The Favorite Animals of Comparative Psychologists

The reason why comparative psychologists choose certain animals to study is not that they love them, although they often do.

Great Apes Use Water as a Tool

In the Zoo of Leipzig in Germany, orangutans came up with a solution to a task that 8-year-old humans have difficulty solving.

Crows Are Smarter Than You May Think

Crows are smarter than you think.

Why Did Humans Domesticate Dogs?

Dog domestication is a complicated evolutionary and cultural process that leads to a symbiotic relationship with humans.

How Primates Understand Newton

Objects always fall perpendicularly to the ground. Can primates use this information to locate food?

Do Dogs Understand Our Intentions?

Dogs respond differently to intentional and unintentional actions.

Are Animals Cultural Beings?

Many people would answer the question of what makes us human by insisting that we are cultural beings.

Can Animals Delay Gratification?

Animals are often forced to decide whether they prefer something immediately or are willing to wait for something better.

Chimpanzees recruit partners.

A Simple Task Illuminates How Different Species Cooperate

Cooperation is not limited to the human species; many animal species are capable of working together towards a common goal.

Smarter Than Us?

We are ready to accept animal supremacy in anatomical features or physical performances, but we have problems imagining that animals could outperform us in cognitive abilities.

Counting Chickens (Right After They Hatch)

If I want to surprise people when talking about cognitive abilities in the animal kingdom, I tell them about the counting chicken.

How Well Can Dog Owners Predict Their Dog's Behavior?

People can predict dog behavior fairly well—but dog ownership alone does not improve the ability to do so.

Why Do We Share?

A children's song called "Sharing is Fun" suggests that humans all enjoy things better when we share them. Animals may not see things the same way, research finds.

Do Dogs Feel Jealousy or Guilt?

Humans often believe our dogs feel guilt, jealousy, and a range of other emotions—but are we just projecting?

Animal Teachers

Are humans the only teachers in the animal kingdom?

Starling

Take a Turn

Turn-taking is not at all uniquely human; it is widespread in the animal kingdom. But sometimes it seems that humans may be losing this ability.

Who Is Guilty?

We might be the only species concerned when something bad happens to someone else. This might result in seeking a guilty party for every unpleasant situation.

Primate Statistics

For weeks now, I have been regularly checking numbers. But what do they really mean? And would a chimpanzee understand them?

Do Animals Plan for the Future?

For those who are healthy and waiting at home for the situation with COVID-19 to improve, one big frustration – at least for me – is the impossibility of making plans.

Do Animals Think?

Animals not only behave according to reflexes, but they can "think"—they understand a lot about their environment. But of course, it depends on how we define "thinking."