Editing Animal cognition (section)

===Sapience===

{{main|g factor in non-humans}}

As the [[cognitive ability]] and [[intelligence]] in non-human animals cannot be measured with verbal scales, it has been measured using a variety of methods that involve such things as [[habit]] reversal, [[social learning theory|social learning]], and responses to [[novelty]]. [[Principal component analysis]] and [[factor analysis|factor analytic]] studies have shown that a single factor of intelligence is responsible for 47% of the individual variance in cognitive ability measures in [[primates]]<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Reader SM, Hager Y, Laland KN | title = The evolution of primate general and cultural intelligence | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences | volume = 366 | issue = 1567 | pages = 1017–27 | date = April 2011 | pmid = 21357224 | pmc = 3049098 | doi = 10.1098/rstb.2010.0342}}</ref> and between 55% and 60% of the variance in [[mus musculus|mice]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Locurto C, Durkin E | title = Problem-solving and individual differences in mice (Mus musculus) using water reinforcement | journal = J Comp Psychol}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Locurto C, Scanlon C | year = 1998 | title = Individual differences and a spatial learning factor in two strains of mice (Mus musculus) | journal = J. Comp. Psychol. | volume = 112 | issue = 4| pages = 344–352 | doi=10.1037/0735-7036.112.4.344}}</ref> These values are similar to the accepted variance in [[IQ]] explained by a similar single factor known as the [[g factor (psychometrics)|general factor of intelligence]] in humans (40-50%).<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Kamphaus RW | date = 2005 | title = Clinical assessment of child and adolescent intelligence. | publisher = Springer Science & Business Media | isbn = 978-0-387-29149-9}}</ref> However, results from a recent meta-analysis suggest that the average correlation between performance scores on various cognitive tasks is only 0.18.<ref name="Dovid Y 2020">{{Cite journal|last1=Poirier|first1=Marc-Antoine|last2=Kozlovsky|first2=Dovid Y.|last3=Morand-Ferron|first3=Julie|last4=Careau|first4=Vincent|date=2020-12-09|title=How general is cognitive ability in non-human animals? A meta-analytical and multi-level reanalysis approach|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=287|issue=1940|pages=20201853|doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.1853|pmid=33290683|pmc=7739923|issn=0962-8452|doi-access=free}}</ref> Results from this study suggest that current evidence for general intelligence is weak in non-human animals.<ref name="Dovid Y 2020" />

The general factor of intelligence, or [[g factor (psychometrics)|''g'' factor]], is a [[psychometric]] construct that summarizes the correlations observed between an individual's scores on various measures of [[cognitive abilities]]. It has been suggested that ''g'' is related to evolutionary [[life history theory|life histories]] and the [[evolution of intelligence]]<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rushton JP | year = 2004 | title = Placing intelligence into an evolutionary framework or how g fits into the r–K matrix of life-history traits including longevity | journal = Intelligence | volume = 32 | issue = 4| pages = 321–328 | doi=10.1016/j.intell.2004.06.003}}</ref> as well as to [[social learning theory|social learning]] and [[cultural intelligence]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = van Schaik CP, Burkart JM | title = Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences | volume = 366 | issue = 1567 | pages = 1008–16 | date = April 2011 | pmid = 21357223 | pmc = 3049085 | doi = 10.1098/rstb.2010.0304}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Herrmann E, Call J, Hernàndez-Lloreda MV, Hare B, Tomasello M | title = Humans have evolved specialized skills of social cognition: the cultural intelligence hypothesis | journal = Science | volume = 317 | issue = 5843 | pages = 1360–6 | date = September 2007 | pmid = 17823346 | doi = 10.1126/science.1146282 | doi-access = | bibcode = 2007Sci...317.1360H | s2cid = 686663}}</ref> Non-human [[Conceptual model|models]] of ''g'' have been used in [[genetics|genetic]]<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Plomin R | title = The genetics of g in human and mouse | journal = Nature Reviews. Neuroscience | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 136–41 | date = February 2001 | pmid = 11252993 | doi = 10.1038/35053584 | s2cid = 205013267}}</ref> and [[neurological]]<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Anderson B |title=The Nature of Intelligence: Novartis Foundation Symposium 233 |chapter=Chapter 5: The ''g'' Factor in Non-Human Animals |series=Novartis Foundation Symposia |volume=233 | pages=79–90; discussion 90–5 |date=2000 |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |doi=10.1002/0470870850.ch5 |pmid=11276911 |isbn=978-0-471-49434-8 |veditors=Bock GR, Goode JA, Webb K}}</ref> research on intelligence to help understand the mechanisms behind variation in ''g''.