% pubman genre = article @article{item_3248708, title = {{Mothers, environment, and ontogeny affect cognition}}, author = {Boesch, Christophe}, language = {eng}, issn = {2372-5052}, doi = {10.26451/abc.07.03.13.2020}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, year = {2020}, date = {2020}, abstract = {{The book {\textquotedblleft}Folk Physics for Apes{\textquotedblright} remains a fascinating book about the way one captive peer-group of{\textless}br{\textgreater}chimpanzees understand the world in which they grew. However, the very special living conditions these seven{\textless}br{\textgreater}individuals faced prevent any generalizations to the species level. Moreover, numerous recent studies have{\textless}br{\textgreater}revolutionized our understanding of brain development and cognitive abilities in documenting much higher brain{\textless}br{\textgreater}plasticity and important variations in the level of cognitive abilities in many species, including humans.{\textless}br{\textgreater}Environmental enrichment and physical practice can lead to impressive improvements in the performance of many{\textless}br{\textgreater}different cognitive abilities during the lifetime and these changes are observed within relative short periods of time{\textless}br{\textgreater}and proportional to the environmental improvements or the level of physical practices. This much higher plasticity{\textless}br{\textgreater}of cognitive abilities requires a new way of thinking in comparative cognitive studies incorporating a multiconditions multi-populations perspective before reaching conclusions that could be generalized to the species level.{\textless}br{\textgreater}In that sense, {\textquotedblleft}Folk Physics for Apes{\textquotedblright} is only one of the many pieces needed before we can draw conclusions about{\textless}br{\textgreater}potential differences between chimpanzees and humans.{\textless}br{\textgreater}}}, journal = {{Animal Behavior and Cognition}}, volume = {7}, number = {3}, pages = {474--489}, }