FAPs Flashcards
Do dogs follow human cues better than wolves?
yes
Can we capitalise on the genetically preinstalled gifts of dogs to train them?
No! Time consuming
What Q would JD ask people who think they can train with just the genetic gifts of dogs i.e. with skilful gesturing?
Can you train a dog using gesturing only, without any sort of reinforcement contingency?
Would it be successful teaching dogs to do a behaviour on cue, using gesturing only, with no reinforcement contingency
No!!!!
Why doesn’t skilful gesturing work with dog?
A lot of behaviours we want more or less off, we’d be swimming against the stream/against the genetic grain
Why should we not limit ourselves to gesturing to teach dogs
We need learning. otherwise, dogs would end up being relinquished frequently
In lions, where do males learn fighting which is v expensive behv and can lead to death
They don’t FAP!
Why do male lions fight?
The winner gets to reproduce
If the resident lion losses and the new guy wins what does the new lion do?
He starts killing new cubs when they are born
What does the same lion do when he is resident male?
He doesn’t kill them! even though some of the females are pregnant fm the old male lion
What are the 5 strategies JD discussed in regards to lions
1 Male who do not attempt pride take overs after dispersal
2 males who experiment and learn over time which strategy will leave the most offspring
3 males who do take-overs but never kill any cubs
4 Males who do take overs, kill existing cubs but not later cubs
5 Males who do take overs kill existing cubs and later cubs
Which strategy is the gold medalist in the reproduction race?
Males who do take-overs, kill existing cubs but not later cubs
Which strategy is the silver medalist in the reproduction race?
Males who do take-overs but never kill any cubs
Why do the other strategies not feature in the medals?
no lioness no cubs!!
Why does the experimenting Lion not feature in the medals?
How does he learn - he’d have to connect today’s behv wt cubs that come months later
What behaviours are there little wiggle room on?
- no luxury of playing around
4 answers
Getting enough to eat
avoid being eaten
reproduction
avoid injury/disease
What happens if you play around wt learning in male lions?
You lose to the double & single bad ass!
Why is the lion who slaughters existing cubs more successful than the one that doesn’t
Invest time/resources into someone else’s offspring is catastrophic in an evolutionary standpoint
Females will come into eustress sooner if not wt cub
double payoff :-)
What does Konrad Lorenz say about behv?
Animals have built-in programs that run in response to certain stimuli
What does skinner say?
Animals learn to do stuff depending on the C to that individual
Which is it? Lorenz or Skinner?
Both!! They are not mutually exclusive they are intertwined
Can FAPs be refined with learning?
Yes!
What is an example of learning on an FAP?
Kill bite in polecats.
The program they do this but the technique is refined wt play and experience.
It is triggered by the movement of prey in adults - they learn moving prey is preceded by running prey after enough CC reps –> still = moving they go for still prey
What does fixed means in FAP
Everybody does them, the same way, it pops out at a certain age and requires no learning
What does fixed not mean?
It can’t be refined or changed
What is a modifiable FAP in dogs?
RG
Does a FAP need an extrinsic rewarding C to be maintained
No the ability to complete a FAP is its own reward. Intrinsically rewarding over generations rather than over an individual’s lifetime.
Is the ability to learn in real-time by oc/cc hereditary
Yes!
What is epigenetics?
The switching on or off of genes by factors in the environment without changing the DNA sequence
What is epigenetics a good example of?
A interaction between genetics and environment
What environmental factors can have an effect of the expression of genes?
Exposure to chemicals
weather
what you eat
stress
etc!!!!
Why is stress relevant in epigenetics?
stress can affect behaviour
- non-stressed rat mums are very nurturing of their offspring
- if mum stressed she does less of this and those offspring grow up more likely to be fearful
- those offspring when mature and reproduce transmit those fearful genes (more likely tp be turned on)
The fearful mum has an impact on her grandrats!!
What do rat fear studies have on the dogs presenting as fearful?
How animals come to be fearful (genetics, mum stress, experience) the prognosis is not different. fear is modifiable
How does epigenetics happen?
1 - Tagging DNA for expression or inhibition
2 - Message to DNA about whether to be active or not
Is there a mutation in the code re epigenetics?
No!
Is it always nature and nurture?
YES!
Why is nature/nurture still up for debate?
routes -> Lorenz vs Konrad - active same time
descendants
When was Konrad Lorenz alive
1903 - 1989
When was Skinner alive?
1904-1990
What does the SSSM say?
What you got from heredity/biology is a general-purpose ability to learn.
The specific modules & programming comes fm
culture
experiences
learning
consequences
modelling
developmental events etc.
What is the SSSM?
Standard Social Sciences Model
What had the stranglehold for most of the 20th century in US
Skinner-type psychs.
OC/CC
SSSM
What happened in 1992?
The warfare started with the publication of the adapted mind
Who wrote the adapted mind?
Leda Cosmides and John Tooby
What did Cosmides & Tooby say?
What biology gives you is a general-purpose learning mech! You have to be kidding
Which huge names came after Cosmides and Tooby?
EO Wilson
Steven Jay Gould
Richard Lewontin
What did RO Wilson say?
We can learn about social behv by looking at basic programs in animals and put together the threads of evolution, genetics and behv. It;s all integrated
What did S Jay Gould & R Lewontin take exception too?
Ramifications of there being innate behv in humans. Driven by ideology. “It can’t possibly be anything to do wt individuals”
What book did S Jay Goukd write?
The mismeasure of man
What missiles do we have now on the nature/nurture divide
Steven Pinker - nature
Susan Friedman - nurture
How do we ID extreme bias
Claims that OC/CC FAPs/MAPs are old thinking or discredited and “now we know better”
Poor understanding of the other side’s discipline, resulting in straw man arguments. Bad basic knowledge of how it works
Reactions to trigger words! Skinner, Behaviourism, FAPS, hard-wired
What should we do if we encounter extreme bias
Listen to what they say about their speciality but don’t take criticism as truth.
What is extreme bias like?
FF vs force trainers!
What is an example B where we need to understand both bisas?
Barking at the door bell
What is a FA view of barking at the doorbell?
Barking makes the intruder go away and so is reinforced.
What is the problem with the FA analysis view of doorbell barking?
a) why does the dog bark in the first place?!
b) How did he learn to do that?
c) What about dogs whose history is primarily people coming into the house (i.e., the C is not going away!)
d) How could you test whether the FA view is correct or not?
How can you test whether the FA view is correct for barking at doorbell?
Try extinction - have people not go away - what happens over time? Does the dog still bark?
What is the selective breeding view on doorbell barking?
It’s an intruder alert! A program that runs automatically in response to intruders. It’s not driven by consequences.
What are the problems of the selective breeding view in relation to doorbell barking
a) But a bell is a random sound - hunter/gathers didn’t have doorbells! They don’t have a doorbell program!!
b) Can it be modified? how?! = OC!!! therefore learning!
Do we need the ability to have both nature and nurture in our heads?
YES! They both make contributions.
Mouse Burrows research 2013 who is unhappy about this?
The learning types!!
What sort of nesting tunnel do deer mouse make?
Short entry tunnel
What sort of nesting tunnel do Oldfield mouse make?
Long entry tunnel with an escape tunnel that almost reaches the surface
What burrows did the first-generation hybrid oldfield mice and deer mice make? F1 hybrids
Long entry tunnel with escape routes. Reliably!!!
What does the mouse research tell us?
It’s genetic.
What happens if you cross the F1 hybrid with a deermouse? F2 hybrids
All sorts of burrows!!
Long with entry tunnel
Long no entry tunnel
Short with entry tunnel
Short no entry tunnel
What did they find in the genetics of the hybrids mice
3 regions responsible for burrow length
1 region responsible for escape tunnels
Some of the candidate genes are related to addictive behaviour in humans! “compulsive diggers” a bit like BC herd sheep. They can’t stop doing it! Dirt = dig!
What is the take-home from the webinar about genetics and bias?
Its nature and nurture
Extremists are out there. View as “how interesting”
Species whose environments have been static over long periods would have more what?
Similar hardwired FAPs
e.g., sharks, crocodiles
Species whose environments have changed a lot over a long period what would you expect?
More plasticity!
e.g., humans!!!
