George Romanes Flashcards
Darwins heir
Why was Romanes considered Darwins heir?
Darwin gave him his notes in 1874. Romanes expanded these with anecdotal evidence and experimental results.
What criteria did Romanes establish was needed to prove that an animal had a mind?
It must have a nervous system.
Its behaviour must be sensitive to past experience (i.e. the organism shows capacity for ‘memory’ or ‘learning’ eg habituation)
What was Romanes’ theory of evolution and how did that impact his consideration of mental capacity?
Theorised linear evolution; you could therefore rate animal intelligence against species. Lamarckian inheritance also played a role in mental evolution - habits adopted by animals can be passed on to offspring.
Explain recapitulation theory
'’Ontogeny’ recapitulates ‘phylogeny’’
Means if you study the development of a foetus, you should gain insight into evolution. The same is implied for the study of child intellectual development and mental evolution.
List Romanes’ hierarchy for emotive processes
- pleasure/pain
- surprise/fear
- parental affection
- jealousy
- sympathy
- revenge
- shame
List Romanes’s hierarchy for cognitive processes
- memory
- association by contiguity
- communicating ideas
- recognising pictures
- understanding mechanisms
- use of tools