Developmental (12-14%) Flashcards
What is developmental psychology?
changes and transitions that follow physical growth and maturation
what is the study of animal behavior called?
ethology
Which three major thinkers in ethnology shared the nobel prize in 1973?
Konrad Lorenz
Nikolaas Tinbergen
Karl von Frisch
Who was the founder of ethology?
Konrad Lorenz
What are the three areas of research Konrad Lorenz is best known for?
1) Imprinting
2) Animal Aggression
3) Releasing stimuli
What are some of the characteristics common to imprinting
1) Young attach to the first moving object they see after birth.
2) Most commonly displayed by a following response
3) Imprinting is subject a sensitive period (after which imprinting does not occur)
What did Konrad Lorenz say about aggression?
That aggressive behavior is instinctual rather than learned and that even human human intraspecies aggression can be explained through survival needs.
What are two other words for releasing stimuli
releasers, sign stimuli
What do releasing stimuli do?
A stimuli that elicits a fixed action pattern.
Generally defined, what is a fixed action pattern?
An automatic, instinctual chain of behaviors that occur after an individual encounters a releasing stimuli.
What are the 4 attributes of a fixed action pattern?
1) They are uniform,
2) They are performed by most members of the species
3) They are more complex than simple reflexes
4) Cannot be interrupted
Who continued Konrad Lorenz’s work on releasing stimuli?
Nikolaas Tinbergen
Who studied sickleback fishes fixed action patterns?
Nikolaas Tinbergen
Who studied herring gull chicks fixed action patterns?
Nikolaas Tinbergen
What is Nikolaas Tinbergen known for?
Studying models in natural settings
What is the releasing stimuli for sickleback fish?
Their red belly
What is the releasing stimuli for the herring gull chickens?
The red spot on their bill
The studying of the herring gull chicks also highlighted what concept about sign stimuli?
Supernormal sign stimuli (a high contrast bill and red spot)
Who discovered the dance of honeybees?
Karl von Frisch
Karl von Frisch is best known for studying what two things?
The dance of honeybees and the senses of fish
Who coined the term fight or flight?
Walter Cannon
Who proposed the idea of homeostasis?
Walter Cannon
What is homeostasis?
The internal regulation of a body to maintain equilibrium
Walter Cannon is best known for proposing what two ideas?
Fight or Flight
Homeostasis
Define haploid vs. diploid
haploid cells (mostly gametes like sperm and ovum) contain a single set of chromosomes (23 in humans) versus diploid cells (almost all other cells) contain two sets of chromosomes.
the fertilized egg cell is called the
zygote
define genotype
the total of all genetic material that the offspring receives
define allele
an alternate form of a gene that occupies a given position on each of a pair of homologous chromosomes
define genetic drift
the way particular genotypes are selected out or completely eliminated from a population over time
why is natural selection thought to occur?
there are more animals born than will survive to maturity, individuals best suited to the environment and to reproduction are most likely to pass on their genes.
what two factors make up evolutionary “fitness”?
1) ability to survive
2) ability to reproduce
define inclusive fitness
animals are invested not only in the survival of their own genes, but in the genes of their kin.
Taking care of offspring, some forms of prosocial behavior, and sounding alarm calls are explained by
kin selection
What 3 factors help define innate or instinctual behaviors?
1) present in all normal members of a species
2) stereotyped throughout the members of a species, even when performed for the first time
3) independent of learning or experience
A behavior may be instinctual and yet _____ of that behavior may be learned.
the performance (can they perform it WELL)
define altruism
behavior that solely benefits another
In what ways is altruism compatible with natural selection?
Reciprocal altruism, or if the benefit to the group outweighs the cost
What is the purpose of courting behaviors?
To attract a mate and isolating a male of the appropriate species
What is the period during which the female of a species is sexually receptive called?
Estrus
Does natural selection select for or against inbreeding?
Against
Define evolutionary mimicry
A evolved form of deception
What is instinctual drift?
When a trained for forced response is replaced with a natural or instinctive response
What organ detects pheromones?
The vomeronasal organ
What are pheromones?
Chemicals used for communicatino
What is the mechanism that prevents interbreeding between different species called?
Reproductive isolating mechanisms
What are the 4 reproductive isolating mechanisms?
1) Behavioral isolation
2) Geographic isolation
3) Mechanical isolation
4) Isolation by season
How does behavioral reproductive isolation work?
display or courtship behavior allows organisms to identify mates within their own species. Only members of a specific species will recognize the courtship behavior.
How does geographic reproductive isolation work?
Different species breed in different areas
How does mechanical reproductive isolation work?
incompatible genital structures make interbreeding difficult to impossible.
How does reproductive isolation by season work?
Potentially compatible species mate during different seasons.
How does sexual selection differ from natural selection?
It focuses on which individuals are most likely to be chosen as a mate, rather than those who are most likely to survive.
What is the term that refers to the structural differences between the sexes?
Sexual dimorphism
When the behavior of different species is compared this is referred to as…
Comparative psychology
What honeybee dance indicates that food is nearby? Which that food is farther away?
Round dance = food extremely nearby
Waggle dance = food is far away
How do elements of a honey bees waggle dance correlate with the location of food
1) The longer the dance, the farther away it is
2) The more vigorous the displace, the better the food
3) The angle of the dance against a vertical indicates the angle between the sun and the food source.
The waggle dance is not only used by honeybees to communicate about food sources but also about …
Potential nesting sites
What do bees use as navigational tools?
1) the sun
2) landmarks
3) polarized light
4) magnetic fields
When does the queen bee lay eggs?
In the spring
Does a queen bee stay in her hive forever?
No, she leaves each brooding season for a new hive site while a new queen takes over.
What is one major factors that remains unknown about honey bees?
How they know to return to the same mating site each year even though no bees survive year to year.
The markers that are visible to honeybees on certain flowers in the spectrum of ultraviolent light are called…
honeyguides
What is involved in “map and compass” navigation?
A combined use of landmarks with navigational tools like the sun or stars
What is an indicator of “true” navigation
An animal can find their goal from any position and without any landmarks (so even if they are displaced from their original location, they can still find their way)
What navigational cues may serve as compasses for animals?
1) atmospheric pressure (pigeons)
2) infrasound, ie low frequency sounds from surf (pigeons)
3) magnetic senses (pigeons, bees)
4) the sun (pigeons and bees)
5) stars (many birds)
6) polarized light (bees)
How do owls navigate at night?
They have hearing that is better at determining the elevation of a sound because of the assymetry of their ears.
Who did the studies with developmental isolation and comfort in rhesus monkeys?
Harry Harlow
Monkeys raised is social isolation had what resulted in what changes to normal social behaviors?
A lack of normal sexual functioning and maternal behaviors
Who showed the heritability of behavior through rats ability to do mazes?
R.C. Tyron