Early Instinct Approaches
Popular in late 1800’s Wm. James and Wm. McDougall Lists
Behaviorists
Criticisms of Instinct Model Nominal Fallacy Confusion with Learning Concept “dies” in Psychology
Ethology
Kept instinct concept “alive” Studied animal behavior Evolutionary adaptiveness of behavior Naturalistic Observation Simple Experiments Ethograms Lorenz and Tinbergen
Ethology Methods
Naturalistic observation Taxonomy of behavior Simple demonstration experiments
Ethological Terms
Appetitive Behavior Consummatory Behavior Action Specific Energy (ASE) Innate Releasing Mechanism (IRM) Key Stimulus (KS) Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)
Key Stimuli
Sign Stimuli Social Releaser Categories of Key Stimuli
Simple Complex/Configurational Supernormal
Supernormal Key Stimuli
Cuckoo’s egg and chick Rowland’s (1989c) Stickleback study
Receptive females Ceramic males
Normal 1.5 times normal
Measured preference (distance from model) Preference for a supernormal stimulus may be
advantageous (survival of offspring)
Fixed Action Patterns
Characteristics of FAPS Stereotyped
Rigid, fixed, species-specific Independent of Immediate External Control
Graylag goose FAP vs TAXIS
Spontaneous Flycatcher
Vacuum Activity Independent of Learning
Hailman’s Gull experiment
Human Ethology
Eibl-Eibesfeldt Research
Cross-cultural Challenged children
Blind Deaf retarded
Universality of Facial Expressions
Smiling Laughing Weeping Frowning Eyebrow Flick
The Eyebrow Flick
Found in his films 1/6 sec Part of “greeting ceremony”
Eye contact Smiling Raising eyebrows
A FAP Appeasement gesture
Eye contact in primates
Threat gesture in primates More complex in humans Lockhart’s field study
Facial Emotional Expression
Ekman’s group Research
Cross-cultural Methods Japanese/American Study Display Rules
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Muscle feedback from face Ekman, Friesen & Ancoli (1980) FACS Zygomatic Major muscles Strack, Martin & Stepper, (1988) Larsen, Kasimatis, & Frey, (1992)
Key Stimuli in Humans
Eibl-Eibesfeldt – Physical characteristics of infants
Neoteny and survival value Human Infant Characteristics
Large head relative to body Large eyes Roundedness
Keating et al. (2003) – adults with neotenous faces receive more help
Recent Approaches
Behavioral Ecology – how do behavior and the environment interact?
Cognitive Ethology – information processing in animals
Evolutionary Psychology – human genetically controlled behavior
Behavioral Ecology
Studies the relationships between behaviors and the environment E.g. Predator-prey interactions Competition among species members for
limited resources Social interactions in groups
Aggressive behavior Sexual behavior Parental Care
Group Membership – Why do many animals live in groups?
Causes competition for resources; however, group membership provides an overall advantage to the individual Increased protection from predators
Dilution effect Increased overall vigilance by the group Alarm signals
Finding new food sources Following behavior
Cognitive Ethology/Animal Cognition
Studies how animals interpret information
Two main approaches Conscious awareness not assumed
E.g. Shettleworth, (2001) Animals have some limited
consciousness Griffin (2001)
Consciousness
Perceptual consciousness Marking Test (Povinelli et al., 1997) Reflective consciousness
Self-awareness?
Evolutionary Psychology
“The analysis of the human mind as a collection of evolved mechanisms,” (Buss, 1999, p.47). Mechanisms to solve specific problems
Decision Rules Physiological Activity More decision processes Behavior
Evolutionary Psychology (Cont.)
Hinsz, Matz & Patience (2001). Correlational study
Does a woman’s hair provide clues to her reproductive potential?
Such signals common in other animals Male lions manes and immune system Birdsong and immune system
Hinsz et al. (2001) found:
Hair length correlated with age Hair quality correlated with health
Barber (1995) - Male physical appearance serves to communciate: Social dominance Female attraction
Hair Length
Social Dominance?