Cognition and Tool Use: Forms of Engagement in Human and Animal Use of Tools / Edition 1

by Christopher Baber

Overview

The ability to use tools is a distinguishing feature of human beings. It represents a complex psychomotor activity that we are only now beginning to comprehend. Robust new theoretical accounts allow us to better understand how people use tools and explain differences in human and animal tool use from the perspective of cognitive science.

Our understanding needs to be grounded upon research into how people use tools, which draws upon many disciplines, from ergonomics to anthropology to cognitive science to neuropsychology. Cognition and Tool Use: Forms of Engagement in Human and Animal Use of Tools presents a single coherent account of human tool use as a complex psychomotor activity. It explains how people use tools and how this activity can succeed or fail, then describes the design and development of usable tools. This book considers contemporary tool use in domains such as surgery, and considers future developments in human-computer interfaces, such as haptic virtual reality and tangible user interfaces.

No other single text brings together the research from the different disciplines, ranging from archaeology and anthropology to psychology and ergonomics, which contribute to this topic. Graduate students, professionals, and researchers will find this guide to be invaluable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415277280
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/24/2003
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Baber, Christopher

Table of Contents

Introduction. How Animals Use Tools. Tool Use by Primates and Young Children. The Making of Tools. Working with Tools. The Design of Tools. The Semantics of Tools. How Tool Use Breaks Down. Cognitive Artifacts. Tools in the Twenty-First Century. Towards a Theory of Tool Use. Conclusions.

Editorial Reviews

"Whilst sets of guidelines for design of handles etc. are readily available within the ergonomics literature, Baber summarizes much of this material succinctly and usefully within the book. … In sum, this is a useful, interesting, and entertaining read that draws upon a wide literature to embed an analysis of an ancient ... human activity within a theoretical framework. … [I]t is a refreshing to review a book that has such wide appeal and relevance. It is easy to imagine the book being useful to development psychologists, archaeologists, or ethologists almost as much as to ergonomists. "
- Ergonomics, Vol. 48, No. 4, March 2005

From the Publisher