Testing Cognition in Amazona spp

Authors

Heidi Francis, Brigham Young University
Dr. Steven L. Peck, Brigham Young University

Keywords

cognition, Amazon, animal intelligence, parrots

College

Life Sciences

Department

Biology

Abstract

Animal intelligence has been studied for years, yet very few people are aware that parrots are ranked near the top with regards to cognition. For almost 20 years Dr. Irene Pepperberg has been teaching African Grey parrots to communicate using language, these birds then use English words to verbally answer questions testing their intelligence level. (Pepperberg, 1995) The teaching method used to do this is called the Model/Rival technique. For my research I chose to test whether this same technique could be used to teach a different species of parrot. Because of their speaking ability and large brain sizes comparable to that of the African Grey, I selected the Amazon parrot for this study.

Recommended Citation

Francis, Heidi and Peck, Dr. Steven L. (2013) "Testing Cognition in Amazona spp," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 1001.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/1001