Cognition and Tool Use: Forms of Engagement in Human and Animal Use of Tools

Analyzing tool use as a psychomotor activity, Cognition and Tool Use presents a coherent account of both successful and unsuccessful efforts to design and develop usable tools. It includes an exploration of tool use by primates and other animals, and contrasts primate tool use with that of young children. It considers design ergonomics, and the various meanings ascribed to tools, discusses contemporary tool use, as well as future developments in human-computer interfaces, such as haptic virtual reality and tangible user interfaces. Compiling research from archaeology and anthropology to psychology and ergonomics, this volume provides the most complete reference available on this subject.