Cognition allows animals to separate themselves from the immediacy of their environment and to reflect on the past in order to solve future problems. Cognition involves the ability to make novel associations. Cognition was once thought to define humanity, or to separate humans from animals, but scientists now recognize that cognitive abilities are not confined solely to humans. Learning through cognition may be more removed from genetic constraints than other forms of learning, but cognitive problem solving ability can vary substantially among different animals within a species. Variation in ability is inherited, so at its core, there is a genetic element underlying 24 cognitive abilities. Cognition gives animals a high level of flexibility in their social and physical environments, but even cognition is ultimately constrained by genetic limits. How environment related to cognitive development ?