Table Of ContentANIMAL CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION
Explorations in Creativity Research
Series Editor
J C. K
AMES AUFMAN
ANIMAL
CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION
Editedby
A B. K
LLISON AUFMAN
UniversityofConnecticut,CT,USA
J C. K
AMES AUFMAN
NeagSchoolofEducation
UniversityofConnecticut,CT,USA
AMSTERDAM(cid:129)BOSTON(cid:129)HEIDELBERG(cid:129)LONDON
NEWYORK(cid:129)OXFORD(cid:129)PARIS(cid:129)SANDIEGO
SANFRANCISCO(cid:129)SINGAPORE(cid:129)SYDNEY(cid:129)TOKYO
AcademicPressisanimprintofElsevier
AcademicPressisanimprintofElsevier
125,LondonWall,EC2Y5AS.
525BStreet,Suite1800,SanDiego,CA92101-4495,USA
225WymanStreet,Waltham,MA02451,USA
TheBoulevard,LangfordLane,Kidlington,OxfordOX51GB,UK
Copyrightr2015ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,
electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,oranyinformationstorageand
retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.Detailsonhowtoseek
permission,furtherinformationaboutthePublisher’spermissionspoliciesandourarrangements
withorganizationssuchastheCopyrightClearanceCenterandtheCopyrightLicensingAgency,
canbefoundatourwebsite:www.elsevier.com/permissions.
Thisbookandtheindividualcontributionscontainedinitareprotectedundercopyrightbythe
Publisher(otherthanasmaybenotedherein).
Notices
Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging.Asnewresearchandexperience
broadenourunderstanding,changesinresearchmethods,professionalpractices,ormedical
treatmentmaybecomenecessary.
Practitionersandresearchersmustalwaysrelyontheirownexperienceandknowledge
inevaluatingandusinganyinformation,methods,compounds,orexperimentsdescribed
herein.Inusingsuchinformationormethodstheyshouldbemindfuloftheirownsafetyand
thesafetyofothers,includingpartiesforwhomtheyhaveaprofessionalresponsibility.
Tothefullestextentofthelaw,neitherthePublishernortheauthors,contributors,oreditors,
assumeanyliabilityforanyinjuryand/ordamagetopersonsorpropertyasamatterofproducts
liability,negligenceorotherwise,orfromanyuseoroperationofanymethods,products,instructions,
orideascontainedinthematerialherein.
ISBN:978-0-12-800648-1
BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress
ForinformationonallAcademicPresspublications
visitourwebsiteathttp://store.elsevier.com/
TypesetbyMPSLimited,Chennai,India
www.adi-mps.com
PrintedandboundinUSA
Dedication
For James—ABK
For Allison—JCK
Are we allowed to do this?—ABK
Idon’t thinkso—JCK
Okay. Then we’d like to both dedicatethis book to the tireless, wonderful
folkswhohelprescueabused,neglected,andabandonedanimals.Ourownlives
have been greatlyenriched byour shelter dogs—love and eternal thanks to
Angela Gschwindof Carolina Loving Hound Rescue (forSweeney) and Diane
Hendrix of New Leash onLife(for Pandora)—ABK & JCK
List of Contributors
IanA.Apperly SchoolofPsychology,UniversityofBirmingham,UK
Alice M.I. Auersperg Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna,
Austria
John Baer Rider University, Education Department, Lawrence Township, NJ,
USA
SarahR.Beck SchoolofPsychology,UniversityofBirmingham,UK
Ronald A. Beghetto Department of Educational Psychology, University of
Connecticut,Mansfield,Storrs,CT,USA
Mathias Benedek Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz,
Austria
RobertM.Bilder DepartmentofPsychiatryandBiobehavioralSciences,David
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of
Psychology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA,
USA; Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of
California,LosAngeles,CA,USA
Gordon M. Burghardt Departments of Psychology and Ecology &
EvolutionaryBiology,UniversityofTennessee,Knoxville,TN,USA
Josep Call Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig,
Germany; School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St.
Andrews,St.Andrews,UK
Jackie Chappell School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham,
Birmingham,UK
David H. Cropley Department of Engineering, Defence and Systems Institute
(DASI),UniversityofSouthAustralia,MawsonLakes,SA,Australia
NicolaCutting SchoolofPsychology,UniversityofBirmingham,UK
Debora Cutuli Department of Psychology, Medicine and Psychology Faculty,
University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy; Laboratory of Experimental and
BehavioralNeurophysiology,IRCCSFondazioneSantaLucia,Rome,Italy
Paola De Bartolo Department of Sociological and Psychopedagogical Studies,
FacultyofFormationSciencies,University“GuglielmoMarconi”,Rome,Italy;
Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS
FondazioneSantaLucia,Rome,Italy
Robert Epstein American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology,
Vista,CA,USA
Agnes Ferisa Orangutan Kutai Project, Kutai National Park, E. Kalimantan,
Indonesia
xv
xvi
LISTOFCONTRIBUTORS
Marie J.C. Forgeard Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA, USA; McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston,
MA,USA
Liane Gabora Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver,BC,Canada
VladPetre Gla˘veanu AalborgUniversity, DepartmentofCommunication and
Psychology,Aalborg,Denmark
Beth A. Hennessey Wellesley College, Psychology Department, Wellesley,
MA,USA
Jessica Hoffmann Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Yale University,
NewHaven,CT,USA
Samuel T. Hunter Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University,
StateCollege,PA,USA
SarahJaumann DepartmentofEcology,EvolutionandBehavior,Universityof
Minnesota(cid:1)TwinCities,St.Paul,MN,USA
Eranda Jayawickreme Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University,
Winston-Salem,NC,USA
David J. Jentsch Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA;
Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of
California,LosAngeles,CA,USA
Allison B. Kaufman Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
UniversityofConnecticut,FieldTechnician,Storrs,CT,USA
David S. Kaufman Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, Saint
Louis,MO,USA
James C. Kaufman Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
UniversityofConnecticut,FieldTechnician,Storrs,CT,USA
Kendra S. Knudsen Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior,
UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,CA,USA
PurwoKuncoro OrangutanKutaiProject,KutaiNationalPark,E.Kalimantan,
Indonesia
Kevin Laland University of St. Andrews, Behavioural and Evolutionary
Biology,St.Andrews,Fife,Scotland,UK
Daniela Laricchiuta Department of Psychology, Medicine and Psychology
Faculty, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy; Laboratory of
Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa
Lucia,Rome,Italy
Phyllis C. Lee Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Psychology, School
ofNaturalSciences,UniversityofStirling,Stirling,UK
Janet Mann Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington DC,
USA;DepartmentofPsychology,GeorgetownUniversity,WashingtonDC,USA
xvii
LISTOFCONTRIBUTORS
Robert W. Mitchell Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University,
Richmond,KY,USA
Antonio C. de A. Moura Department of Engineering and Environment,
FederalUniversityofParaiba,RioTinto,PB,Brazil
Ana Navarrete University of St. Andrews, Behavioural and Evolutionary
Biology,St.Andrews,Fife,Scotland,UK
Weihua Niu Pace University, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, New York,
NY,USA
William J. O’Hearn Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
UniversityofConnecticut,FieldTechnician,Storrs,CT,USA
Eric M. Patterson Department of Biology, Georgetown University,
WashingtonDC,USA
Irene M. Pepperberg Department of Psychology, Harvard University,
Cambridge,MA,USA
LauraPetrosini DepartmentofPsychology,MedicineandPsychologyFaculty,
University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy; Laboratory of Experimental and
BehavioralNeurophysiology,IRCCSFondazioneSantaLucia,Rome,Italy
KarenPryor KarenPryorAcademy,Watertown,MA,USA
Apara Ranjan Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver,BC,Canada
Roni Reiter-Palmon Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska
Omaha,NE,USA
Sandra W. Russ Case Western Reserve University, Department of
PsychologicalSciences,Cleveland,OH,USA
Anne E. Russon Psychology Department, Glendon College, York University,
Toronto,ON,Canada
Alcino J. Silva Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and
Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los
Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Integrative Center for Learning and
Memory,DavidGeffenSchoolofMedicineatUCLA,LosAngeles,CA,USA
Dean Keith Simonton Department of Psychology, University of California,
Davis,Davis,CA,USA
Emilie Snell-Rood Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior,
UniversityofMinnesota(cid:1)TwinCities,St.Paul,MN,USA
Daniel Sol CREAF (Centre for Ecological Research and Applied Forestries),
CSIC(SpanishNationalResearchCouncil),Bellaterra,Catalonia,Spain
John H. Stathis Connecticut College, Biology Department, New London, CT,
USA
Eli Swanson Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of
Minnesota(cid:1)TwinCities,St.Paul,MN,USA
xviii
LISTOFCONTRIBUTORS
Emma C. Tecwyn School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham,
Birmingham,UK;DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofToronto,CA
Susannah K.S. Thorpe School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham,
Birmingham,UK
OshinVartanian UniversityofTorontoScarborough,Toronto,ON,Canada
Thomas B. Ward University of Alabama, Department of Psychology,
Tuscaloosa,AL,USA
Stephanie A. White Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology,
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Molecular, Cellular and
Integrative Physiology Interdepartmental Program, University of California,
LosAngeles,CA,USA
Thomas R. Zentall Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky,
Lexington,KY,USA
Foreword
Within the field of creativity research, psychologists tend to stick to
the study of humans. Biologists or ethologists usually either focus on
animal problem solving or else consider creativity to be an evolutionary
adaptation. However, much of human creativity theory can be applied
to animal behavior. Creativity and innovation found in the animal king-
dom appear to follow similar rules, constraints, and models to those in
humans. There has been one outstanding edited book on the topic—
Animal Innovation by Simon Reader and Kevin Laland (Oxford
University Press, 2003)—but it was, with some exceptions, focused on
work by animal researchers. Our vision was for a dialog between those
who study creativity in animals and those who study the same topic in
humans. We sought a wide variety of contributors and commenters,
both in terms of fields (we span psychology, biology, neuroscience,
engineering, business, ecology, and education) and location (the contri-
butors come from 12 countries). There has not been a synthesized col-
lection and exchange of ideas between the two communities until now,
however, despite the clear benefits to understanding the benefits of cre-
ativity inbothan evolutionary and cognitive sense.
The goal of this edited book is not only to gather the most cutting
edge research on innovation in animals, but to also allow chapter
authors some degree of freedom to extrapolate their findings toward
what might be considered “anthropomorphism.” Traditionally, this
type of extrapolation in scholarly literature can bring academic scorn;
however, researchers have recently begun to see some value in small
amounts of personification of their animal subjects. As part of the cross-
over effort, we feature chapters by leading scholars in animal cognition
and then commentaries by top creativity researchers. We are delighted
to be able to present chapters and commentaries by some of our very
favorite researchers in both areas.
We start with a section detailing exciting examples of creativity in
the animal world. Irene Pepperberg discusses the accomplishments of
Alex, the late and legendary African Gray Parrot, whose abilities led
Ronald Beghetto to rethink much of the way he looks at creativity from
a human perspective. Next, Robert Mitchell describes an excellent
example of creative play between a person and a dog, in which Jessica
Hoffman finds many parallels to creative play in children. Alice
Auersperg discusses creative innovations in parrots and corvids, and
xix
