This book proposes a novel framework for understanding the evolution of intelligence by applying human developmental theories to primate cognition. Sue Taylor Parker and Michael McKinney argue that human developmental theories, specifically Piagetian and neo-Piagetian models, provide a robust method for comparing intelligence across primate species, a long-standing challenge in comparative psychology since Darwin's era. Their comprehensive approach examines a wide array of cognitive domains, including social, symbolic, physical, and logical aspects, all encompassed within the broad and often debated concept of intelligence.

The book offers a significant theoretical contribution to the study of intelligence evolution, proposing a novel comparative framework. Its reliance on human developmental psychology to analyze primate cognition is a distinctive approach that challenges existing methodologies. The work is likely to be of interest to specialists in comparative psychology, primatology, and evolutionary anthropology seeking to understand the roots of cognitive abilities.