classical ethology and tinbergen's 4 questions Flashcards
what are tinbergen’s 4 questions
proximate: immediate, moment of the behavior
1. causation
2. development
ultimate: deeper, ultimate purpose of the behavior, survival value
3. function
4. evolutionary history
what are the 3 conditions that natural selection is an inevitable consequence
- heritable variation
- differential reproductive success
- accumulation of successful variations
what is evolution
descent with modification
what is natural selection
darwin’s hypothesis for the principal agent of evolutional change
it was suggested that in cases of overpopulation, animals could help their own species by killing themselves. however, this is highly unlikely because
“cheaters” that do not kill themselves would spread throughout the remaining population
what is stronger, individual or group selection
individual
what is altruism
an animal sacrificing some or all of its reproduction to help another (can only occur if it actually helps)
what 3 factors can help group selection occur
- within-group cost of altruism is offset by a group benefit
- reproduction occurs within the trait group
- mixing phase
what effects occur when the “altruistic” mutation arises
when altruism first appears, altruists produce fewer offspring than selfish individuals. altruists do not initially sacrifice all their reproduction. thus, they can partly help their reproductive group and partly reproduce their own genes
what is a fixed action pattern (fap)
- has a complex sequence
- no subunits (go entire sequence without stopping)
- runs to completion
- pattern is invariant (always the same)
how is a fixed action pattern triggered
key stimulus (releaser) –> innate releasing mechanism (irm) (input about environment) –> fixed action pattern (fap)
what is a configurational key stimulus
key stimulus composed of multiple stimuli in a specific relationship to one another
what is habituation
decline of a response to a stimulus that is repeatedly presented, without reward or punishment
