Ethological Flashcards
Ethological Explanations
Stresses that adaptive value of animal behaviours.
Ethologists study the behaviour patterns of animals in their natural environments.
Fixed Action Patterns
A Repertoire of stereotyped behaviors which occur in specific conditions and which do not require learning.
Innate releasing Mechanism.
A Neural network that, when stimulated by the presence of a sign stimulus, communicates with motor control circuits to activate the fixed action pattern associated with that sign stimulus.
Key Study: Stickleback Fish Procedure
Male Sticklebacks are highly territorial during the spring mating season, when they also develop a red spot on their underbelly. If another male enters their territory a sequence of highly stereotyped aggressive behaviour is initiated. The sign stimulus that triggers the IRM is the sight of a red Spot.
Tinbergen presented sticklebacks with a series of wooden models of different shapes
Key study: Stickleback Fish Findings
Regardless of Shape. if the model had a red spot the stickleback would aggressively display and even attack it, But if there was no red spot there was no aggression even if the model looked realistically like a stickleback.
The FAP were unchanging from one encounter to another. Once triggered the FAP always ran its course to completion without any further stimulus.
Evaluation: Evidence For Universal Behaviour
Ethological theory has helped expand the way we think about the causes of human behaviour. While other theories have emphasised either the immediate causes of behaviour or the effects of early experience on later development, ethological theory finds explanation of development in the evolution of the species. These explanations help us to understand why certain behaviours are universal, and why other behaviours vary enormously from one social context to another. It also helps us to accept that there may be limits to our ability to change certain aspects of human behaviour. It has also heightened our awareness of the concept of readiness, warning us that while timing may not be everything in development, it often influences the magnitude of our effects on children’s behaviour and development
Evaluation: Verifiability.
× Ethological theory suffers from serious problems of verifiability. For example, what types of data can prove that a particular behaviour ensures survival or the species? There is also some question about generalizing from behaviour patterns observed in animals to human behaviour. Moreover, while ethologists have provided many new concepts to the study of behaviour and development, many of the terms (e.g. critical periods and instincts) are not well-defined and are difficult to measure.
