PSYCH 515 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 100% PASS
What is animal communication? - ANS one animal influences behavior of others via
transmission of signal
- not always active
- ex: color of a poisonous frog
What do mating dances communicate? - ANS - sparrow bib size = dominance
- indicate fitness
- sage grouse - only one or two in lek will mate, yell skin means healthier
What does posture communicate? - ANS 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? - ANS 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
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, How do ants use pheromones? - ANS find a static food source and emit odorous chemicals on
the way home so others can follow it
Male bird songs - ANS more complex songs are correlated with better fitness
- some aspects of animal communication are more sophisticated than human language
4 features of human language - ANS 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 - ANS intensity
- louder=more danger
Symbolic and NOT abstract - ANS 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 - ANS 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 - ANS A constituent that contains a constituent of the same kind
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
AND ANSWERS 100% PASS
What is animal communication? - ANS one animal influences behavior of others via
transmission of signal
- not always active
- ex: color of a poisonous frog
What do mating dances communicate? - ANS - sparrow bib size = dominance
- indicate fitness
- sage grouse - only one or two in lek will mate, yell skin means healthier
What does posture communicate? - ANS 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? - ANS 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
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, How do ants use pheromones? - ANS find a static food source and emit odorous chemicals on
the way home so others can follow it
Male bird songs - ANS more complex songs are correlated with better fitness
- some aspects of animal communication are more sophisticated than human language
4 features of human language - ANS 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 - ANS intensity
- louder=more danger
Symbolic and NOT abstract - ANS 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 - ANS 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 - ANS A constituent that contains a constituent of the same kind
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
