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Year 3: Primate Ecology and Behaviour > Cognition > Flashcards

Cognition Flashcards

1
Q

What is Machiavellian intelligence?

A

The idea that cognition in primates evolved from intense social competition, whereby social competitors developed increasingly sophisticated strategies to achieve higher social/reproductive goals.

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2
Q

What is the colloquial name for Machiavellian intelligence?

A

‘The social brain hypothesis’

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3
Q

Assuming Machiavellian intelligence, what is the assumption about material culture?

A

It was built upon expertise acquired in the social field. Basically technological intelligence is a development of social learning.

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4
Q

What is the 3 stage process for intelligence?

A

Learning, knowledge, intelligence

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5
Q

Knowledge can be acquired individually. How? Give 2 mechanisms.

A
  1. By conditioning (trial and error)

2. Via experiments

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6
Q

How can knowledge be acquired socially? Give 3 mechanisms.

A
  1. Stimulus enhancement
  2. Emulation
  3. Imitation
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7
Q

What is stimulus enhancement?

A

Exposure to a problem-solving situation, e.g. watching a more experienced individual

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8
Q

What is emulation?

A

Achieving the same end result via a different method

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9
Q

What is imitation?

A

Copying the method and achieving the same end result

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10
Q

What does imitation require?

A

Understanding the intention behind the method

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11
Q

What does teaching require?

A

Understanding what someone does not know and showing them

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12
Q

What is the neocortex?

A

The most recently evolved part of the brain, concerned with sight and hearing in mammals.

IMPLICATED IN SOCIALITY

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13
Q

It was initially believed that intelligence evolved to solve ecological problems.

a) Give an example of an ecological problem
b) What evidence was found AGAINST this hypothesis?

A

a) Extractive foraging to eat invertebrates

b) No significant difference in ratio of neocortex to rest of brain in extractive vs non-extractive foragers

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14
Q

How does the neocortex support the theory of Machiavellian intelligence?

A

The neocortex:rest of brain ratio is larger in social animals

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15
Q

What was used as a proxy for sociality in neocortex experiments?

A

Mean group size

Bigger group = more social

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16
Q

What is a behaviourist outlook of intelligence?

A

The behaviour is the end goal

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17
Q

What is a mentalist outlook of intelligence?

A

The reactions of others to the behaviour is the end goal

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18
Q

Is complex intelligence behaviourist or mentalist?

A

Mentalist

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19
Q

Do simple tasks require behaviourist or mentalist intelligence?

A

Behaviourist

20
Q

What is theory of mind (ToM)?

A

The ability to ascribe mental states to others

the understanding that others have their own mind independent of yours

21
Q

What is zero order ToM?

A

Conditioning, simply reacting to a stimulus e.g. a baby monkey crying because it is hungry

22
Q

What is first order ToM?

A

The ability to understand another person’s thoughts.

23
Q

What is second order ToM?

A

The ability to infer what one person thinks about another person’s thoughts.

24
Q

How many orders of ToM are there?

A

A lot (up to like 7, gets v. complex)

25
Q

What is the self-model?

A

Essentially ‘who you believe you are’ in your mind defined by your first-person experiences. Creates a set of beliefs and attitudes.

26
Q

What does ‘phenomenally transparent’ mean when applied to the self-model?

A

Transparency is a sense of property of all phenomenal (conscious) states.

27
Q

So what is the transparent self-model?

A

You are a consistent person, a ‘self’, because you have uniquely experienced consciousness, and your experiences of this cannot be represented outside your mind

28
Q

Who proposed the transparent self-model?

A

Thomas Metzinger

29
Q

Can you know others without understanding yourself?

A

No

30
Q

How do great apes vs. monkeys fare in the mirror self-recognition test?

A

Most great apes can identify themselves, v. few monkeys can

31
Q

Group living is beneficial, but then your companions also become your competitors. True or false?

A

True.

32
Q

There is no selection pressure acting on group sociality. True or false?

A

False: there is a pressure to manipulate and deceive conspecifics for your own gain

33
Q

What does ‘the technological transfer of social intelligence’ actually mean?

A

The development of social tools, e.g. manipulating someone else into doing something for you

34
Q

Give an example of social tool usage.

A

Getting someone else to fight for you, i.e. being the brains behind the brawn

35
Q

Furthering your own gain within a social group could be interpreted as what?

A

Cheating/lying

36
Q

In what ways do we cope with cheaters?

A
  1. Small initial investment and rapid demand of payback
  2. Mental bookkeeping
  3. Moralistic aggression
  4. Counter-deception
  5. Preference for ‘honest’ signals
  6. Self-deception
37
Q

In coping with cheaters, what does ‘small initial investment and rapid demand of payback’ mean?

A

‘You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’

Essentially bargaining at first to test honesty, reciprocity ensures trust

38
Q

In coping with cheaters, what does ‘mental bookkeeping’ mean?

A

Remembering when others have wronged you and not trusting them again

39
Q

In coping with cheaters, what does ‘moralistic aggression’ mean?

A

Getting angry with/punishing those who have wronged you

40
Q

In coping with cheaters, what does ‘counter deception’ mean?

A

You deceive them in response to their deception of you

41
Q

In coping with cheaters, what does ‘preference for honest signals’ mean?

A

Indicator traits that cannot be faked are preferred, e.g. fitness-dependent traits

42
Q

In coping with cheaters, what does ‘self-deception’ mean?

A

You know you are a cheater and you need to hide traitorous signals and pretend you are honest, because people like honesty

43
Q

Tactical deception correlates to neocortical ratio. What does this imply?

A

Basically those able to play mind games in social interaction are v. intelligent

44
Q

Intelligence has environmental origins. True or false?

A

False, intelligence has social origins.

45
Q

Mind-reading allows for empathy. What’s that?

A

The ability to understand/know what someone else is feeling.

‘Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes’

46
Q

Empathy can be a bad thing. True or false?

A

True: it can allow you to understand how to hurt someone

47
Q

Mind-reading allows for sympathy. What’s that?

A

Sharing the feelings of another, i.e. if they are sad, you are sad. If they are relieved, you are relieved etc.

Year 3: Primate Ecology and Behaviour (16 decks)

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