Naturalistic Observation in the Hispanic World and its Contribution to the Development of Comparative Psychology

Abstract

The observation and descriptions of animal’s behavior and emotions from the New World began shortly after the arrival of Spaniards in America. The discovery of the Indian natives and completely unknown species in Europe sparked a great interest in pioneers like Álvarez Chanca, Fernández de Oviedo, Cieza de León, Sahagún, Francisco Hernández, Acosta, Cobo or much later by Azara. In our opinion, these studies provided the basis for the study of animal behavior and emotions in the New and the Old World and allowed a new understanding of the Natural History and the relationship between structure and function. It is likely that these findings were crucial for the work of Charles Darwin three Centuries later. Moreover, it is suggested that the future development of Comparative Psychology based on Darwin and Romanes work, based its roots in the work and observations of these early pioneers.