In 1871, Charles Darwin wrote that there are no fundamental differences in mental abilities between humans and higher mammals. In recent decades, this claim has driven empirical research which has further supported Darwin's hypothesis. However, mental capacities are particularly difficult to study and little progress has been achieved until recent times.

One main objective of the Comparative Cognition Group is to explore and understand the biological origins of different mechanisms involved in language and culture. Research includes all types of primates, but focuses primarily on non-human primates in their natural habitats in an effort to explicate the evolutionary origins of a range of cognitive processes.

 
 © Florian Moellers