A FORMAL NOTATION TO AID ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX BEHAVIOR - UNDERSTANDINGTHE TACTICAL DECEPTION OF PRIMATES

A formal notation is argued to be useful in representing theories of c omplex animal behaviour. This ''production system'' approach, original ly derived from artificial intelligence, is explained with a series of examples of tactical deception in primates. These examples are contro versial, since they might suggest intentionality and thinking in non-h umans, and their interpretation is not straightforward. The ease of re presenting competing explanations of sophisticated behaviour (for inst ance those used in behaviourist psychology, animal ethology, and cogni tive science) in the single formalism of production systems, may event ually aid a rapprochement between disciplines with interests in the ev olution of intelligence.