Comparative Vision Science: Seeing Eye to Eye?

In the study of comparative cognition and perception, disparities in the diverse approaches that researchers take in studying behavior sometimes obscure the interpretation of a particular empirical finding. We describe an approach to the study of comparative cognition and perception which focuses on explaining the ways in which different biological systems solve the computational challenges that are posed by their natural environments. Within this investigative framework, the task of detecting correspondence between a three-dimensional object and its two-dimensional photographic representation falls outside the mainstream of most research in animal visual cognition and is of limited value for divulging the principles or mechanisms that underlie the visual abilities of animals. More productive pursuits seek to elucidate the principles and mechanisms of object recognition and categorization, and to illuminate how they contribute to the animal's survival in the visual world.