exam 2 Flashcards
human language (productivity)
using small number of sounds to generate a large number of words and sentence constructs
human language: creativity
new words/ideas can be made regularly
human language: displacement
can discuss things that are not physically present and even imaginary things
human language: completeness
language could in theory describe any concept a human can comprehend like love
intentionality (zero-order)
no mental representation required, true for traits that develop rather than decide to produce in response to a situation (aposematism, bright colors being toxic)
intentionality (first-order)
sender seeks to elicit a response in the receiver, produced response to specific conditions. communicate with receiver and convey information (alarm calls and tail flagging are produced in a specific context with the intension of influencing behavior)
intentionality (second-order)
the sender intends to influence the attributed mental state of the receiver (thinks about what a receiver might or might not know) –> deceitful signals
cues
information that animals produce but is not ‘intended’ to communicate with the receiver//mouse rustling in leaves heard by an owl
signal
specially evolved traits that modify the behaviors of receivers, cheating is not possible
gene
functional units of DNA that encode for a functional element. string of amino acids produced by a relevant protein
changes to DNA
influences when, where, and how much of a gene product is made
transcription
turning genetic information from DNA to RNA - writing down nucleic acid information in the form of another nucleic acid
translation
turning genetic information from RNA to protein - going from the language of nucleic acid to the language of amino acids
CRISPR
sequences in the genome to cut, if not provided a repair template CRISPR cuts lead to changes in DNA unpredictable, (if provide template for repair, we can inset a precise sequence of DNA into a specific location in the chromosome), ALTERS HERITABLE DNA – PERMANENT
mRNA
piece of the viral mRNA, own cells make the protein, short lived, provide mRNA to be translated – TEMPORARY
viral vector
express genetically engineered proteins in cells of different tissues or species compared to their normal expression, shuttle in NON-HERITABLE DNA, relatively stable effects
vocal production learning
modify the structure/ordering of vocalizations as a result of hearing others (babies can learn to speak any language) most vertebrates don’t have vocal learning
critical period
species-specific developmental time window when juveniles are sensitive to sensory input/able to learn info (birds learning new songs, humans don’t have bc we are always learning)
sensory phase
birds are senstitive to learning new songs. become part of a template to be learned, they listen and learn forming a mental template
sensory motor phase
bird practices making the song and assess its performance relative to the template called subsong
crystallized song
the bird vocalizations are fixed and no longer change. wont increase further in accuracy to match the template
alarm call
produce vocalizations in the presence of predators
referential communication
vocalizations that refers to an object/event that is external to the signaler (has meaning) like a dog barking to show someone at the door
animal language projects
can animals use language if reared in the right environment? (apes as humans, some taught versions of sign language or picture) (buttons for dogs and used less)
learning
relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience
instinct
inherent inclination/response toward a complex behavior
imprinting
rapid, phase-sensitive learning that is typically characterized as rapid and relatively permanent (allows animals to learn important info when it will be most helpful)
associative learning
the process by which an organism learns to associate two stimuli (trial and error learning) (learn thru experience)
local enhancement
animals can use the presence of others to help them learn about relevant features of the environment (follow da crowd)
social facilitation
the presence of conspecifics can lead to an increase likelihood of a behavior or increase the intensity of a behavior (in groups, ravens are bolder)
observation learning
learning that occurs thru observing the behaviors of others (ill eat what u eat in rats)
cultural transmission
observational learning can lead to culture, production of behavior must be associated with experience observing behavior, the behavior is maintained after the initial demonstrator is gone
horizontal transmission
peer groups, fast, change can occur within a generation
vertical transmission
parents, slow, change occurs with each generation
oblique transmission
other adults/older individuals, slow, change occurs with each generation (more to learn from than vertical so chance of observing a new behavior is increased)
teaching (3 criteria)
1: more experience individual changes its behavior to help a less experienced one
2: the teacher doesn’t get any immediate benefit and might even lose time or energy
3: the learner picks up the skill quicker bc of the teachers help
tool
a physical extension of the body that is used by an animal to modify the consequences of their actions or sensory perceptions, use of objects is observed among multiple individuals, demonstrated ecological purpose)
innovation
production of novel behaviors or novel combinations of behaviors, typically in the context of solving an ecological problem (puzzle box)
insight learning
a sudden solution of a problem after an “aha” moment
play
behavior that expresses spontaneous, rewarding and intrinsically motivated novel combinations of motor patterns with no apparent immediate utility
allometry
iso: same proportional relationships btwn body parts
allometric scaling: any changes in relative proportions of traits that deviates from isometry
hyper-allo: as body size increases, the relative size of a trait increases
hypo: body size increases, particular trait decreases
residual
the difference between the predicted value and the observed value
transitive inference
the use of known relationship entitites or concepts to infer the state of unknown relationships (if A>B and B>C, then infer A>C)
reversal learning
ability to change responses as contingencies change (qunatitive measures of how well animals can learn a new rule after learning a previous one)
generalization
application of exisiting rules or approaches to new but similar stimuli or contexts
domestication vs tameness
domestication: evolutionary process that involves selection for a whole lineage to have traits that make them more appropriate at human livestock or pets
taming: development process where a species is acclimated to living with humans and is comfortable with their presence
neural crest hypothesis
help w the early development of embryos, they can influence many organ systems
artificial selection
foxes breed towards humans to breed subsequent generation
heritability
the proportion of phenotypic variation that is explained by genetic variation (measured, comparing traits btwn family members across lots of families, using genetic data to related genotypic similarity to phenotypic similarity)
theory of mind
idea that u have diff belief and knowledge as someone else
punishment vs sanction
punishment: an individual making a costly action against a cheater, causing harm for the cheater, which then leads to more cooperation in later interactions
sanctions: individual making a self-beneficial behavior that causes harm to the cheater interaction and ends the interaction
violation of expectation study paradigm
an event or object that is unexpected generally garners larger responses and more investigation (outside typical expected behavior)
