Cognitive Science 0231 - Primate behavior and well-being

Following Robinson and Weiss' Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice (not required to purchase), this class will review the study of animal well-being through focusing on nonhuman primates. We will discuss the history of primates in captivity, current uses of primates in captivity and the arguments for and against their use, primate behaviors related to well-being, and indicators of positive and negative well-being. We will discuss animal well-being as a science and area of philosophy and law. Given that animal well-being is an individual experience, we will also discuss other individual differences including personality and cognitive performance. Where appropriate, we will also briefly cover other areas of animal well-being (e.g., farm animals, zoo animals) so to give a broad review of current animal well-being topics. Keywords:animal, behavior, primates, well-being, captivity

Environments and Change Students should expect to spend 8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time