Associative symmetry: a divide between humans and nonhumans?

Thomas Chartier (1, 2) , Joël Fagot (1, 2)

1 LPC - Laboratoire de psychologie cognitive
2 SP - Station de primatologie

Anthropocentrism can bias scientific conclusions. As a case study, we challenge the 40year-old associative symmetry dogma, supposed to cognitively set apart humans from other species. Out of 37 human studies surveyed, only 3 truly demonstrate symmetry, of which only 1 (on 5 participants) suggests that symmetry is spontaneously formed.

Mots clés: backward associations; comparative cognition; Sidman equivalence; language; anthropocentrism

Domaines: Sciences cognitives; Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Thomas Chartier, Joël Fagot. Associative symmetry: a divide between humans and nonhumans?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2022, 26 (4), pp.286-289. ⟨10.1016/j.tics.2022.01.009⟩. ⟨hal-03654704⟩