A Proposed Transdisciplinary Framework to Align Comparative Psychology and Social Science Research on Animal Minds

Social science research into public understanding of animal cognition has tended toward a disciplinary focus with conceptual frameworks, questionnaires, concepts and categories that do not appear to align with the findings emerging from the scientific study of animal cognition. The goal of this paper is to present a framework that aligns the dimensions of these two disparate research fields to allow for better assessment of public perceptions of animal minds. The paper identifies different dimensions that have been categorized through the empirical study of animal cognition, as well as the constructs used in social science research about animal thinking, and then seeks to align constructs that seem conceptually equivalent. Based on this alignment, the paper proposes a set of cross-disciplinary categories that might serve as a framework for reporting results in ways that can increase public understanding about the overall concept of animal thinking: social learning, tool use, concept formation, spatial awareness, numerosity, communication, decision-making, awareness, and creativity. The paper provides a description of the framework's utility by highlighting how clarification and alignment of constructs can promote research in both fields. It concludes by suggesting that this framework offers the opportunity to more proactively engage in dissemination of new information about animal cognition in public forums. More importantly, such an approach can facilitate study of the nuanced ways in which the public engages with scientific information to learn about animal minds.