There is no single, exclusive term for animals that can discern cause and effect, but in scientific literature, these animals are generally described as exhibiting causal reasoning, inferential reasoning, or complex cognition.
Animals capable of this, such as corvids (crows, ravens), apes, dolphins, and raccoons, are often referred to as possessing higher-order cognitive abilities or demonstrating rational decision-making.
Key Terms in Scientific Literature
Causal Reasoning: The ability to understand the relationship between a cause and its effect, such as realizing that dropping a stone in a tube will raise the water level to reach food.
Rational Decision-Making: A, 2017 study concluded that many animals—including elephants, chimpanzees, and, ravens—are capable of rational, non-instinctive choices.
Tool-Using Animals: Often cited as a key indicator of cause-and-effect understanding, as they must understand that a tool causes a desired change in the environment.
Proto-logical Operations: A term for the basic "if-then" (conditional) reasoning that nonlinguistic animals use to understand causal relationships between actions and outcomes.
Key Behaviors
Animals with this ability are often described as demonstrating:
Tool Use & Modification: Modifying objects to achieve a goal.
Metacognition: "Knowing about knowing," which allows some animals to assess their own knowledge and make better decisions.
Anticipation: Acting based on predicted outcomes rather than immediate stimuli.
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