People often talk about how “smart” dolphins are. But what do we really know about their cognitive abilities? In this talk Professor Christine Johnson of Cognitive Science Department will review the research on dolphin cognition, with an eye to the social and ecological demands of their aquatic life. In work from the field, we will assess data on the complexity of their social structure and their collaborative strategies for hunting and defense. We will consider the opportunities, and constraints provided by their morphology and sensory systems, and explore some hints we get from their unique neuroanatomy. We will especially focus on cognitive research from the lab, investigating learning and  problem solving abilities, and compare these to work on humans and other animals. Our goal will be to recognize that there are many forms of “intelligence” out there, and how critical it is to situate cognitive studies within the lifeworld of the species of interest.