Theme of the Special Issue: Comparative Cognition & Cognitive Ecology: Unifying psychological and biological approaches to understanding animal cognition
Research in comparative cognition and cognitive ecology examines learning and other cognitive abilities in a variety of species with the goal of uncovering the proximate and biologically relevant mechanisms that underlie behaviour and development. Research in the domain takes both phylogeny and ultimate function into account. Because comparative cognition and cognitive ecology are focused on both fundamental and ecological questions about animal behaviour, they play the role of a theoretical hub within psychology, contributing critical solutions and establishing new questions in psychology and related disciplines such as behavioural ecology, computing science, and neuroscience. This confluence of approaches leads to exciting new insights into how animals, including humans, solve real-world, biologically-important problems. A main objective of this special issue is to unite research and researchers from traditionally disparate backgrounds, oft based on geographic locale (i.e., the North American tradition of experimental psychology and the European tradition of zoology) whose goal is to describe behaviour of animals whilst addressing cognition.
Call for Papers
Researchers with an interest in issues relevant to Comparative Psychology & Cognitive Ecology are invited to submit an expression of interest in the form of a proposed title and short abstract by 01 July 2019, via email to the Guest Editors: Lauren Guillette and Chris Sturdy. Papers should present original, unpublished work, and can take the form of an empirical laboratory/field work, an opinion piece, a review, or a meta-analysis. The deadline for submission of full papers is 30 September 2019 via the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology Manuscript Editorial Manager at https://www.editorialmanager.com/cep/default.aspx. Submissions should indicate in the cover letter that the paper should be considered for this special issue along with three suggested referees. Papers should be submitted electronically in accordance with APA guidelines and can be written in either English or French. All submitted papers will go through peer-review with consideration given to their theoretical contribution, their originality, their methodological soundness, the clarity of the presented results and conclusions, and the relevance of the submission for the special issue. Once accepted, papers will appear quickly as Online First and, then, appear together as soon as is possible in a special issue.