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The role of executive control in tool use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2012

Gijsbert Stoet  and
Lawrence H. Snyder
Gijsbert Stoet
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom. g.stoet@leeds.ac.uk http://volition.leeds.ac.uk/~stoet
Lawrence H. Snyder
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110. larry@eye-hand.wustl.edu http://eye-hand.wustl.edu
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Abstract

Comparing cognitive functions between humans and nonhuman primates is helpful for understanding human tool use. We comment on the latest insights from comparative research on executive control functions. Based on our own work, we discuss how even a mental function in which non-human primates outperform humans might have played a key role in the development of tool use.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , August 2012 , pp. 240 - 241
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

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