PSYC 311 1st Edition Lecture 2Outline of Current Lecture I. Theories of EvolutionII. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Ethological ApproachIII. Behaviorism and Other Approaches Current Lecture I. Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, continued a. Konrad Lorenz - Imprinting i. geese - first thing that they see moving after they hatch, the baby geese will follow 1. Lorenz made it a point that the first thing they saw was him - taught themhow to be a goose ii. whooping cranes - severely endangered - they will lay more than one egg, but will not nurture more than one1. take the other eggs and incubate them to raise more whooping cranesa. imprinted on the humans - could not reproduce successfully in natureb. whooping cranes can be successfully raised by sandhill cranes b. Niko Tinergen -- field experiments i. sand wasps - stock nests underground to feed hatchlings 1. how do they know which nest is their nest?a. placed pinecones around the nest for several weeks and then used themb. confused the wasps - they use visual stimuli to remember the location of their nest i. square vs. triangle differentiation ii. Herring Gull eggs 1. eggs are camouflage - take the shell fragments after they hatch and fly them off elsewhere 2. placed shell fragments in abandoned nests and took note of types of predatorsa. nests with fragments had an increased number of predators - by removing them, you decrease the amount of predation on the chicks 3. egg retrieval for eggs that fall out of the nest - like a center hiking a football These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.a. the bigger the egg, the better - they will retrieve the bigger eggs first i. means a healthier chick - size of egg depends on health of female reproductive track c. Karl Von Frisch -- bee color vision, communicationi. animal architecture - termite nests/mounds - all orient and shaped the same way1. orientation dependent on the season - catch full sun during winter, sun to the back during summer II. Advantages of Ethological Approach a. based on a theory = evolution i. a theory should summarize what is known and generate predictions to be evaluated vis researchb. behavior is studied under field or natural conditions (in real world)c. descriptive - allows assessment of an animal's behavior - what does the animal do?i. introducing female rats to a male rat labd. allows identification of natural adequate stimuli i. which stimuli trigger/cause an animal's behavior?e. suggests experimental and laboratory studies i. ethology gives a "total picture" of sorts III. Disadvantages of the ethological approacha. difficult to control stimulus conditions in the fieldi. wind shift that causes the deer you are studying to run away - did they smell you?b. quantification is not always accurate or even possible i. how many animals are observed? how often does the behavior occur?c. said to be tough generating testable hypotheses i. not impossible - Lorenz, Tinbergen, Von Frisch did d. cannot control (or measure) the past history of the animal i. what if an animal has just lost a dominance battle, or just had a narrow escape from a predator? e. Sampling - which animals allow us to see them? i. experienced vs. naive animals 1. buck sent other deer out first to test the waters IV. Animal behavior is not always easily studied a. blinds, robots, drones can be used b. behavior in the day vs. at night (hyenas)c. Enrichment readings i. Jane Goodall - enrichment "In the Shadow of Man" ii. Diane Fossey - enrichment "Gorillas in the Mist"iii. Galdikas - enrichment "Reflections of Eden"iv. CoCo the gorilla - uses American Sign Language V. Laboratory Research a. Advantages i. experimentation - do something (IV) and see what happens (DV)ii. a high degree of control and quantification is possible 1. can sure that there are no confounding variables -- nothing to interfere with reserch findings VI. Disadvantages a. repertoire of animal is never assessed i. what does the animal naturally do vs. what we force upon it b. generalization to the real world? i. extraneous stimuli are ruled out c. may create behaviori. can also be true of naturalistic studies ii. Goodall created a feeding experience so that the chimps did not move to find food so often -- allowed her observation to be more concentrated 1. one chimp became in charge of the food pile and new behaviors occurredas the other chimps tried to get the food d. we often impose our own sensory characteristics on animals and ignore their unique sensory and motor capabilities i. first touch screens were used to measure the response characteristics of animals - changed electrical characteristics and classified as a response VII. Early Experimental Psychology a. Functionalism i. first rat runners - white rats1. Carr and Watson a. prevailing thinking at the time; Instinct Psychology b. instincts which are pre-wired, unlearned behaviors that occur in response to specific stimuli i. To hold a baby close to your heart in order to clm it ii. "instinct" can be a tautological explanatory device - based on circular reasoning 1. once thought to be 28000 instincts a. "he loves her because humans have an instinct to love 2. Can only be named after it has been performed c. readings - Watson - Behaviorism docd. reading - Watson - Principles of Behavior b. Behaviorism - Watson and Skinner i. elements of behavior are not prewired circuits 1. Stimulus - Response connections linked by learning (reinforcement)a. ie: shocking all chimps as one tries to climb to reach the bananasb. introduction of naive chimp results in the experienced chimp becoming violent toward the naive chimp that tries to reach the bananas - each introduction of a naive chimp yields similar results ii. learning is the ultimate basis for behavior; instincts need not be postulated 1. behaviorism emerged after the anti-instinct revolt iii. favored the experimental method whereby, under controlled conditions, something is done to the animal (IV) and the changes in behavior (DV) are measured iv. What goes on inside the animal is irrelevant1. no consideration of physiology -- cannot manipulate their physical makeup v. Pure behaviorism ignores:1. evolution, genetics, instincts (useless tautologies) and sensory motor capabilities a. cannot control or manipulate them - so don't try to study them and do not use them as explanatory