The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots

What can a bird learn? Irene Pepperberg set out to find out. As with children, the best way to assess what has been learnt is to ask. Primarily for that reason, she chose birds capable of forming human words. An African Grey parrot, who she dubbed Alex [Avian Learning EXperiment], became the subject of her investigations. Earlier efforts in laboratories were unsatisfactory. Why should Mynahs, reputedly excellent mimics, fail to learn speech in laboratory conditions? When in homes with several people providing input, they chatter endlessly, almost to distraction. The solution, Pepperberg decided, was the intense social environment. To that end, she developed a training method that produced astonishing results. This book thoroughly documents the author's methods and results, providing a fascinating account of the cognitive abilities of at least one psittacine species, the Grey Parrot. Incorporating a technique she calls M/R - for Model/Rival, Pepperberg would "teach" an assistant what she wished Alex to learn. The bird observed this, then was encouraged to emulate the learning experience. This meant the bird had to understand what was to be learned and use its innate abilities to achieve it. Speech was the first lessons, but things moved well beyond simple words quickly. Shapes, colours and materials were the next level, with Alex discriminating among them both singly and in groupings. The object was to understand what Alex could comprehend and act on. Alex also learned to differentiate - "larger", or "different" or, most significantly for a bird - "abscence". He could note when something was missing, naming the missing object. The method resulted in Alex's expressing his own needs and wants, even ending a training session by declaring he wished to quit. Pepperberg's research findings are in direct contradiction to past scientific efforts. The book is therefore richly detailed with the methods used and was information was obtained. There are photographs of test object layouts, even stills from X-ray videos of how Alex forms his speech. She is clearly challenging the received wisdom of established opinion. She's careful to avoid terms like "consciousness" or even "intelligence", although the latter comes in for some discussion late in the book. She finds only one example of Alex's communication she thinks can be deemed "creative". Much more important, in her view, is that we need to understand previously under-evaluated cognitive capabilities in parrots. They are a long-lived and social species, conditions which lead to interaction among individuals and reinforced learning. Social interaction, combined with carefully devised teaching methods are essential to proper learning, whether with children, other primates or psittacines. The capacity is there, and we need to recognise it. The Alex studies clearly demonstrate that at least these psittacines are capable of far more than the simply mimicry we've long attributed to

One of the preconceived notions I had before reading this book was that the quality of research would be rather soft around the edges... Sort of "feel good pseudo-science"... I was pleasantly surprised when I learned how meticulous and critical Pepperberg had obviously been in the course of her research. By not being afraid to challenge the traditional beliefs of animal cognition as well as boldy examining the potential pitfalls of her own approach, Pepperberg has delivered a compelling and meticulous body of scientific research that stands on its own. Pseudo-science? Definitely not. Feel good? Well, since I'm a parrot "owner" as well as always being fascinated by the subject of cognition, this book was a great read for me. The one downfall to all of this is that I'm constantly annoying my wife by trying to get her to participate in model-rival training sessions with our own African Grey. The bird, however, indulges me... Im sure he considers my efforts quite amusing.

Irene Pepperberg summarizes her twenty-something years of research with an African Grey named Alex. This is possibly the most poignant research on animal cognition that I've read. As a scientist, I can appreciate the hard work and dedication that went into this research; as a bird lover and companion to an african grey, I know what every bird lover/companion knows, that birds are intelligent and crafty. Dr. Pepperberg's research is among the first to truly reveal the intelligence of non-mammal species, hence it's monumental importance. Above that, it is easy to read, appreciate and understand. This book is destined to become a classic!

Eminently readable, occasionally touched with a delicious dry wit, "The Alex Studies" is a "must" read for anyone intrested in animal intelligence. Gut instinct. Creative insight. Educated guess. Hypothesis. Call it what you will, this is the ingredient needed to make new discoveries. It's inspiring when a scientist has such a gut instinct that seems off the wall to all others but the scientist nevertheless launches a lifetime of work dedicated to uncovering truth--and against all expectations, turns out to be right. Pepperberg's work with Alex, as described here, is a delightful example of that kind of vision. Her diligence, brilliance, and exceedingly careful work over many years has provided a fascinating expansion of our horizon on animal intelligence. Thoughtful comparisons with similar work on other animals, including human children, were particularly thought-provoking for me.

This is essential reading for anyone interested in animal cognition. Dr. Pepperberg reviews her two decades of careful, systematic work with one African gray parrot and provides a detailed picture of the evolution of her ideas, methodologies and truly mind-boggling data. This is a well-written, easy to follow, well-organized account of her scientific work, of which most people have only had a brief glimpse (either in the press or from documentary films on PBS and the Discovery Channel). The public is becoming increasingly aware of the complexity of animal minds, and I predict that this book will remain an excellent resource for years to come; it not only explain's the writer's seminal contribution to this fascinating interdisciplinary field, it also provides an historical context and theoretical rationale for the work of many other scientists studying language, cognition and animal behavior.