Perception of Affordances in Multi- Scale Dynamics as an Alternative Explanation for Equivalence of Analogical and Inferential Reasoning in Animals and Humans Keith Davids QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Duarte Araújo TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF LISBON ABSTRACT. Recent claims of equivalence of animal and human reasoning are evaluated and a study of avian cognition serves as an exemplar of weak- nesses in these arguments. It is argued that current research into neurobio- logical cognition lacks theoretical breadth to substantiate comparative analyses of cognitive function. Evaluation of a greater range of theoretical explanations is needed to verify claims of equivalence in animal and human cognition. We conclude by exemplifying how the notion of affordances in multi-scale dynamics can capture behavior attributed to processes of ana- logical and inferential reasoning in animals and humans. KEY WORDS: action, affordances, cognition, comparative neurobiology, eco- logical constraints Analogical and inferential reasoning have been proposed as influential cog- nitive processes involved in the decision making and problem solving of neu- robiological systems during goal-directed behavior. They have been viewed as core cognitive processes permitting neurobiological systems to go beyond surface features of an event, object, or behaviour, supporting comparative judgements from one particular instance to another (Gentner, Holyoak, & Kokinov, 2001). A number of studies have attempted to verify whether birds THEORY &PSYCHOLOGY VOL. 20 (1): 125–134 © The Author(s), 2010. Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0959354309345637 http://tap.sagepub.com COMMENT