Ch 13 - Comparative Cognition

Question 1

biophilia hypothesis

Answer 1

The inherited predisposition to be drawn to or bond with nature, including other animals.

Question 2

communication

Answer 2

The process of sending and receiving a signal of some sort.

Question 3

comparative cognition

Answer 3

The study of information processing across a variety of species

Question 4

delayed matching-to-sample

Answer 4

A memory task in which the animal is first shown a sample stimulus and then, following some delay, is required to select that stimulus out of a group of alternative stimuli.

Question 5

language

Answer 5

A special category of communication which has some key features—symbols, syntax, and semantics—that distinguish it from other forms of communication.

Question 6

numerosity

Answer 6

An understanding of quantity.

Question 7

reference

Answer 7

The ability to associate arbitrary symbols with objects or events.

Question 8

self-awareness

Answer 8

The ability to perceive oneself as separate from others.

Question 9

semantics

Answer 9

The meaning associated with symbols.

Question 10

symbol

Answer 10

A cue that is used to represent some experience or object that you can then share with someone else.

Question 11

syntax

Answer 11

The system of grammatical rules by which symbols are arranged, as well as how those symbols can be modified and interact with one another.

Question 12

theory of mind

Answer 12

The tendency to impute mental states to other individuals.

Question 13

transitive inference

Answer 13

A form of reasoning in which the relationship between two objects can be inferred by knowing the relationship of each to a third object.

Question 14

Tinbergen’s Four Questions

Answer 14

(Ultimate Causes)

1. What purpose does the trait have for survival or reproduction?
2. How is this trait distributed among various species?

(Proximate Causes)

3. What biological or environmental events led to the expression of this trait in an individual?
4. How does this trait emerge or change during an individual’s development?

Question 15

directed forgetting

Answer 15

The phenomena that occurs when an instruction to ‘forget something’ is given, and there is a subsequent display of poorer memory for that event

Question 16

direct matching-to-sample

Answer 16

A memory task similar to delayed matching-to-sample, but with no delay between sample and trial; requires the subject to match the quantity displayed on the sample to earn the reinforcer

Question 17

mark and mirror task

Answer 17

Test of self-awareness. The subject is surreptitiously marked on the face and then given a mirror. Evidence of self recognition includes touching the mark or using the mirror to investigate other areas of their own body.