PSYCH 515 ASSESSMENT STUDY SHEET
2026 ACCURATE ANSWERS VERIFIED
⫸ What do mating dances communicate? Answer: - sparrow bib size
= dominance
- indicate fitness
- sage grouse - only one or two in lek will mate, yell skin means
healthier
⫸ What does posture communicate? Answer: likely outcome of a
fight before it happens
- crest elevated=afraid, nape elevated=aggressive
social status
- dom is always different than subordinate
⫸ How does a snake use pheromones? Answer: collect air particles w
tongue, taste them, pass to the nasal cavity
- females release them for males, mark one side more than the other to
follow diretion
⫸ How do ants use pheromones? Answer: find a static food source
and emit odorous chemicals on the way home so others can follow it
⫸ Male bird songs Answer: more complex songs are correlated with
better fitness
,- some aspects of animal communication are more sophisticated than
human language
⫸ 4 features of human language Answer: 1. symbolic - words stand
for things
2. abstract - words don't have features of the things they rep
3. syntax - words are organized into categories and follow rules
4. generative - totally novel combos of words are created and
understood (recursion)
⫸ Some animal communication is ______ based Answer: intensity
- louder=more danger
⫸ Symbolic and NOT abstract Answer: scream stands for something
else and not abstract
- used by ground squirrels
- chickadee alarm calls
-- number of D notes is proporional to the size of the predator, more =
smaller
⫸ Symbolic AND abstract Answer: Chicken alarm calls are
categorical
- different for ground vs aerial predators
- elicit different behaviors
Vervet monkeys
, - make finer distinctions btwn alarm calls for leopard vs snake vs
eagle
⫸ Recursive structure Answer: A constituent that contains a
constituent of the same kind
⫸ Hierarchical system in human cognition Answer: 1. language
2. music
3. math (pemdas)
4. complex motor skills
⫸ Artificial Grammar Task Answer: kids habituate to one grammar
and then hear a violation
- look at the violation more
⫸ Can monkeys learn to rep complex recursive structures Answer:
yes but it isn't the first strategy they try
⫸ Can animals do generativity Answer: No
⫸ Can an ape learn human language Answer: they were raised by
humans and taught sign language
- showed some evidence but got weird
- ape sign language production does NOT resemble human language
learning
2026 ACCURATE ANSWERS VERIFIED
⫸ What do mating dances communicate? Answer: - sparrow bib size
= dominance
- indicate fitness
- sage grouse - only one or two in lek will mate, yell skin means
healthier
⫸ What does posture communicate? Answer: likely outcome of a
fight before it happens
- crest elevated=afraid, nape elevated=aggressive
social status
- dom is always different than subordinate
⫸ How does a snake use pheromones? Answer: collect air particles w
tongue, taste them, pass to the nasal cavity
- females release them for males, mark one side more than the other to
follow diretion
⫸ How do ants use pheromones? Answer: find a static food source
and emit odorous chemicals on the way home so others can follow it
⫸ Male bird songs Answer: more complex songs are correlated with
better fitness
,- some aspects of animal communication are more sophisticated than
human language
⫸ 4 features of human language Answer: 1. symbolic - words stand
for things
2. abstract - words don't have features of the things they rep
3. syntax - words are organized into categories and follow rules
4. generative - totally novel combos of words are created and
understood (recursion)
⫸ Some animal communication is ______ based Answer: intensity
- louder=more danger
⫸ Symbolic and NOT abstract Answer: scream stands for something
else and not abstract
- used by ground squirrels
- chickadee alarm calls
-- number of D notes is proporional to the size of the predator, more =
smaller
⫸ Symbolic AND abstract Answer: Chicken alarm calls are
categorical
- different for ground vs aerial predators
- elicit different behaviors
Vervet monkeys
, - make finer distinctions btwn alarm calls for leopard vs snake vs
eagle
⫸ Recursive structure Answer: A constituent that contains a
constituent of the same kind
⫸ Hierarchical system in human cognition Answer: 1. language
2. music
3. math (pemdas)
4. complex motor skills
⫸ Artificial Grammar Task Answer: kids habituate to one grammar
and then hear a violation
- look at the violation more
⫸ Can monkeys learn to rep complex recursive structures Answer:
yes but it isn't the first strategy they try
⫸ Can animals do generativity Answer: No
⫸ Can an ape learn human language Answer: they were raised by
humans and taught sign language
- showed some evidence but got weird
- ape sign language production does NOT resemble human language
learning
