A minimalist approach to comparative psychology

Recently, two alternative approaches to comparative psychology were proposed in Trends in Cognitive Sciences [1,2]. The two approaches have in common their suggestion that complex cognitive mechanisms consist of simpler elements that are similar for humans and other animals. We very much welcome the suggestion that researchers should concentrate on underlying mechanisms [1] by conducting carefully designed empirical research [2]. However, de Waal and Ferrari's ‘bottom-up perspective’ [1] is an attempt to support the idea of cognitive continuity between human and non-human primates based on a limited interpretation of evolutionary theory, where Darwin's idea of common descent is all-important.