Ethological explanations Flashcards
What do ethologists study?
They study animal behavior in natural settings to understand its evolutionary significance.
Why is aggression considered adaptive?
It benefits survival by forcing defeated animals to relocate, reducing competition and starvation risk.
It helps distribute members of a species over a wider area, leading to the discovery of new resources.
How does aggression help establish dominance hierarchies?
Male chimpanzees use aggression to climb social ranks, gaining mating rights and higher status.
Dominance = Greater access to resources.
What did Pettit et al. find about aggression in children?
Studied young children and found that aggression helped establish dominance hierarchies, which led to social benefits.
What is ritualistic aggression?
Series of behaviours carried out in a set order.
What did Lorenz observe about ritualistic aggression?
Aggression within a species rarely leads to physical damage.
Most aggressive encounters consisted of a prolonged period of ritualistic signalling.
What are ritual appeasement displays?
Signals of defeat that inhibit further aggression in the victor.
The Haka, rat snakes.
What is an innate releasing mechanism (IRM)?
Biological process (e.g., a network of neurons in the brain) that responds to a specific stimulus, triggering an automatic behavior.
What is a fixed action pattern (FAP)?
A pre-programmed, automatic sequence of behaviors triggered by a stimulus.
What are the six characteristics of a FAP according to Lea?
Stereotyped: Always the same sequence of behaviors.
Universal: Found in all members of a species.
Unaffected by learning: Performed regardless of experience.
Ballistic: Once triggered, it must be completed.
Single-purpose: Only occurs in specific situations.
Triggered by a sign stimulus (releaser).
What did Tinbergen study?
Male sticklebacks’ territorial aggression during the spring mating season.
When they develop a red spot on their underbelly.
How did Tinbergen test this?
Presented wooden models of different shapes, some with red spots.
What were Tinbergen’s findings?
If a model had a red spot, the male stickleback attacked, even if the model didn’t resemble a fish.
If there was no red spot, there was no aggression, even if the model looked like a real stickleback.
What does Tinbergen’s research suggest about aggression?
Aggressive behaviour in sticklebacks is triggered by a fixed sign stimulus and follows a fixed action pattern (FAP).
Once triggered, the FAP runs its course without needing further stimulus.
