The behavioural ecology of primate cognition

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It is generally agreed that primate brains and cognition are, in large measure, a product of social life. There is less agreement on both the particular nature of this social cognition and how we would recognise it if we were to observe wild primates for whom, after all, it has had the most evolutionary importance. We argue that primate cognition has not been selected to allow animals to plan ahead by shoring up valuable relationships. It is, instead, an ability to respond rapidly to changing circumstances, without regard for the future, and to make use of the structure of both the social and physical worlds to reduce the cognitive load of decision-making.