What 1882 book by George Romanes helped name early comparative psychology?

George Romanes’s 1882 book that helped name early comparative psychology was Animal Intelligence.

Romanes published the book as a systematic collection and discussion of observations about how animals learn, solve problems and behave. He was closely associated with Charles Darwin and extended Darwin’s argument that humans and other animals share evolutionary continuities in mental as well as physical capacities.

Animal Intelligence helped establish comparative psychology as an identifiable field, although Romanes relied heavily on anecdotes from animal owners, naturalists and other observers. His willingness to infer complex mental states from those stories later drew criticism for anthropomorphism and weak experimental controls.

Romanes followed the book with Mental Evolution in Animals in 1883, which explored the development of animal mental abilities in greater detail. His methods influenced the field but also helped provoke the more cautious approach associated with C. Lloyd Morgan’s Canon. Thus, Romanes is important both as a pioneer and as a figure whose methods later scientists sought to refine.