Evolution of Intelligence , The

Definitions of intelligence in the scientific literature center around the idea that that intelligence refers to cognitive processes that allow humans and other animals to solve novel problems in their environments. Thus, Jerison (1973, pp. 16–17) notes that “Although experts differ with regard to the nature of human intelligence, a more or less common ground is that it is a dimension of cognitive behavior – the way one knows the world and the way one uses that knowledge when adapting to changing conditions.”