PSYCH 2210 MIDTERM VERIFIED STUDY GUIDE
Hallmarks of comparative cognition - Answers - - examination of cognitive processes
- experimental procedures
- evolutionary framework
Galef - Answers - Exemplified hallmarks
- why some grouse have so many mates
- found that females observe the nate choice of other females and copy
- watching a male interact with females made him more attractive
Tenets of theory of evolution by Natural Selection - Answers - 1) variation - individuals
vary both physiologically and behaviourally
2) heritability - offspring inherit traits
3) survival and reproduction - individuals possessing favourable traits have a greater
chance of transmitting trait to offspring
Fitness - Answers - Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment
Byproducts and random effects - Answers - Byproducts: side effects of adaptations
(belly button
Random effects: chance mutations (shape of belly button) that do not provide an
advantage
Exaptations - Answers - Particular characteristic that may provide a valuable service
now, but may not have been selected for that function - feathers were for
thermoregulation but aid in flight
Adaptations - Answers - traits that improve an individual's ability to survive and
reproduce
Speciation - Answers - the formation of new and distinct species in the course of
evolution from a common ancestor
- animals move to a new habitat and evolve
- become a new species when they can no longer mate with original species
Continuity hypothesis - Answers - Trait differences between animals and humans will be
quantitative not qualitative
- differ in how traits are expressed
- animals possess many of the cognitive and emotional traits humans have - even if at a
basic level
, Anecdotal method (negatives to it) - Answers - - used by Darwin
- theories based on observational accounts from people
- stories may be embellished
- difficult to judge if stories are true
- have a place in research - shouldn't be used as evidence
C. Lloyd Morgan - morgans canon - Answers - There is no need to attribute complex
thought processes to animals if their behaviour can be explained by simple mechanisms
Thorndike - Answers - Trial and error - animals had to escape box
- argued that behaviour is shaped by reinforcement history (how frequently is punished
or rewarded for behaviour)
- important premise was that his behavioural tests must provide objective, quantifiable
and replicable measures of learning
- helped establish comparative psych
John B. Watson - behaviourism - Answers - Argued that psychologists must focus on
observable events without speculating the inner processes that may control behaviour
Psychology as a behaviourist views it - 3 main points - Answers - 1) only behaviour
should be the subject matter of psychology
2) mentallistic concepts such as consciousness and imagery should not be the topics of
an objective science of psychology
3) both human and animal behaviour is modified by experience, specifically the learning
of stimulus response associations
Ethology - Answers - study of animal behavior
- based on premise that study of behaviour should be naturalistic
- recreate natural conditions
- behaviour traits must be understood in terms of natural selection
Lorenz, Tinbergen, and Frisch - Answers - Focused on instincts or behavioural patterns
that appear in full form the first time they are displayed
- instincts are described as innate responses that are inherited
- found fixed action patterns (FAPs)
Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) - Answers - - stereotyped, species typical behaviours that
occur in a rigid order and are triggered by specific stimuli in the environment
- interaction between learning and inherited mechanisms
- example is a goose season egg shaped rock and rolls it back to the nest and if the
experiment to removed the rock, the goose would still use the rolling motions to bring
the imaginary egg back to the nest
Tinbergen in relation to FAPs - Answers - Many FAPs could be modified with
experience
Hallmarks of comparative cognition - Answers - - examination of cognitive processes
- experimental procedures
- evolutionary framework
Galef - Answers - Exemplified hallmarks
- why some grouse have so many mates
- found that females observe the nate choice of other females and copy
- watching a male interact with females made him more attractive
Tenets of theory of evolution by Natural Selection - Answers - 1) variation - individuals
vary both physiologically and behaviourally
2) heritability - offspring inherit traits
3) survival and reproduction - individuals possessing favourable traits have a greater
chance of transmitting trait to offspring
Fitness - Answers - Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment
Byproducts and random effects - Answers - Byproducts: side effects of adaptations
(belly button
Random effects: chance mutations (shape of belly button) that do not provide an
advantage
Exaptations - Answers - Particular characteristic that may provide a valuable service
now, but may not have been selected for that function - feathers were for
thermoregulation but aid in flight
Adaptations - Answers - traits that improve an individual's ability to survive and
reproduce
Speciation - Answers - the formation of new and distinct species in the course of
evolution from a common ancestor
- animals move to a new habitat and evolve
- become a new species when they can no longer mate with original species
Continuity hypothesis - Answers - Trait differences between animals and humans will be
quantitative not qualitative
- differ in how traits are expressed
- animals possess many of the cognitive and emotional traits humans have - even if at a
basic level
, Anecdotal method (negatives to it) - Answers - - used by Darwin
- theories based on observational accounts from people
- stories may be embellished
- difficult to judge if stories are true
- have a place in research - shouldn't be used as evidence
C. Lloyd Morgan - morgans canon - Answers - There is no need to attribute complex
thought processes to animals if their behaviour can be explained by simple mechanisms
Thorndike - Answers - Trial and error - animals had to escape box
- argued that behaviour is shaped by reinforcement history (how frequently is punished
or rewarded for behaviour)
- important premise was that his behavioural tests must provide objective, quantifiable
and replicable measures of learning
- helped establish comparative psych
John B. Watson - behaviourism - Answers - Argued that psychologists must focus on
observable events without speculating the inner processes that may control behaviour
Psychology as a behaviourist views it - 3 main points - Answers - 1) only behaviour
should be the subject matter of psychology
2) mentallistic concepts such as consciousness and imagery should not be the topics of
an objective science of psychology
3) both human and animal behaviour is modified by experience, specifically the learning
of stimulus response associations
Ethology - Answers - study of animal behavior
- based on premise that study of behaviour should be naturalistic
- recreate natural conditions
- behaviour traits must be understood in terms of natural selection
Lorenz, Tinbergen, and Frisch - Answers - Focused on instincts or behavioural patterns
that appear in full form the first time they are displayed
- instincts are described as innate responses that are inherited
- found fixed action patterns (FAPs)
Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) - Answers - - stereotyped, species typical behaviours that
occur in a rigid order and are triggered by specific stimuli in the environment
- interaction between learning and inherited mechanisms
- example is a goose season egg shaped rock and rolls it back to the nest and if the
experiment to removed the rock, the goose would still use the rolling motions to bring
the imaginary egg back to the nest
Tinbergen in relation to FAPs - Answers - Many FAPs could be modified with
experience
