People have pondered animal behavior since the beginnings of human existence (Frison 1998). Insights into animal behavior allowed our ancestors to outsmart prey during a hunt or befriend another animal, the latter eventually leading to domestication of animals. Knowledge of animal mating systems helped human societies grow, because propagation of domesticated stocks ensured that there were dependable supplies of food (Zeder 2008).
When observing wild or domesticated animals today, we are often fascinated by their persistence in accomplishing a given task, such as when magpies adjust individual sticks to form a nest or when a pet seeks out its favorite toy (Figure 1). And, we continue to ask basic questions about animal behavior: Do animals have motivations and preferences? Do they make conscious choices? When given alternative partners or various foods to choose among, do animals make adaptive choices that are good for them? These and similar questions are addressed in controlled experimental designs that measure and test connections between an observed behavior and its hypothesized affectors.
