Lecture 2 - Animal Cognition 1

Question 1

How does Shettleworth define cognition

Answer 1

The mechanisms by which animals acquire, process, store and act on information from the environment

Question 2

Why should we study animals

Answer 2

James 1980 - Psychology is science of mental life

Helps us understand humans - particularly evolutionary

Animal welfare

Question 3

What is the cycle of Charles Darwin evolution

Answer 3

Variation - many offspring which are variable

Selection - some offspring survive to reproduce

Outcome animals adaption to suitability to environment

Question 4

Outline Darwin’s Evolution

Answer 4

Behaviour and psychology
Commonalities between species
Comparative psychology
Successful characteristics inherited

Question 5

Outline George Romanes

Answer 5

Animal intelligence 1882 - collection anecdotes about intelligent behaviour

Animals differ in intelligence. No one type more intelligent

Question 6

What is Anthropomorhism

Answer 6

Attributing human characteristics to animals

Question 7

What is Anthropocentrism

Answer 7

Viewing animals from our own human perspective

Question 8

What is Nakajima, Arimitsu and Latakia 2002s perception of intelligence

Answer 8

Study American and Japanese University students perceptions of animal intelligence
Perceptions generally correspond to phylogenetic scale

Question 9

What is Macpails 1987 definition of intelligence

Answer 9

General problem solving

Although he is against providing particular definition

Question 10

What is Eysencks 1987 definition of intelligence

Answer 10

Cannot use intelligence when talking about animals

Need correlation of tests (psychometrics)

Question 11

Hodos 1987 definition of intelligence

Answer 11

Abandon “general intelligence” and concentrate on specific abilities
(Decision making, concept formation, rule learning, tool use)

Question 12

Outline Shettleworth 1987 definition of intelligence

Answer 12

It is anthropocentric to think about intelligence

Question 13

How can we compare intelligence?

Answer 13

Brain size

Question 14

What does Brain Size tell us about intelligence

Answer 14

Cephalozation Index
Size brain relative body size
Higher values mean larger than average brain for body size
Humans larger brain size than average for body size .89

Question 15

How can learning be measured

Answer 15

Simple instrumental conditioning task
Respond —> reward
Measure how many rewards needed before criterion reached
Tara and humans took quite a while

Question 16

How can learning: concepts be measured by Wynne and Udell 2013

Answer 16

2 shapes. 1 lead nothing. 1 to food. Idea is underlying concept learnt so receive new set shapes quickly understand.
Monkeys learn fast
Rats and squirrels never above chance

Question 17

What is the criticism of Wynne and Udell 2013

Answer 17

Results may depend on lifestyle Dunnarta reach 90% after 12 problems
They forage in open areas and need quickly learn about signals in their environment

Question 18

Other issues of Wynne and Udell 2013

Answer 18

Learning with some stimuli seems easier than with other stimuli e.g. easy for rat to learn to press lever for food, it not to press lever avoid shock

Contextual factors - Bitterman 1965 - sensory, motivational and motor processes

Question 19

Bitterman’s solution to Wynne and Udell’s 2013 issues

Answer 19

Systematic variation
Training on task across range conditions
After testing hundreds times of still not learnt down to animal not being able to understand contextual factors

Question 20

Outline Lloyd Morgan’s Canon 1900

Answer 20

Tony (his dog) could open a gate

Performance improved over time via trial and error learning

Question 21

Outline Lloyd Morgan’s Canon 1894

Answer 21

Find simplest explanation

BUT: what do we mean by higher level? What do we mean by psychological scale?

Question 22

Outline Thorndike 1898, 1911

Answer 22

Experimental methods used in studies of animals

Question 23

Outline Cognitive, Behaviourist and Ethology

Answer 23

Cognitive: look at interesting/complex aspects of behaviour

Behaviourist: experimental method

Ethology: behaviour is something that helps survival. Interest of researchers in Europe in field work

Question 24

Outline Tinbergen 1963 4 questions

Answer 24

1. Function - adaptive purpose of behaviour
2. Phylogeny (evolution) - how behaviour vary among more/less related species
3. Ontology (development) - behaviour across lifetime and learning
4. Mechanism - how it occurs in brain and how caused by ability to learn

Question 25

Who researched in to the horse Clever Hans

Answer 25

Pfungst 1911

Question 26

Outline Clever Hans Pfungst 1911

Answer 26

Horse was able to answer questions e.g. arithmetic.
Hans was responding to external signs.
Presence experimenters is important to think about in animal studies

Question 27

Outline perceptual worlds

Answer 27

Important keep in mind when researching animal behaviour
Perceptual abilities vary between species
The world you experience is due to processing abilities of your brain

Question 28

Outline vision and colour

Answer 28

Humans 3 colour receptors - blue, green, red
Other species see more spectrum than humans
Bees: green, blue, ultraviolet
Blue tit: perceive UV. Pigeons have greater than 6 colour receptors

Question 29

What are the uses of smell

Answer 29

Survival - find food, avoid predators

Communication - define home range, attracting mates, recognition for individuals

Question 30

Outlines Dogs and their Smelling

Answer 30

Identify an individual odour in mixtures of odours
11 and less odours in mixture with 100% success
Detection illegal substances, food, explosives, diseases

Question 31

What is the chemical used in intraspecies communication

Answer 31

Pheromones
Released by 1 individual and affect another individual.
Mainly used insects

Question 32

Danger of sending Pheromone signals

Answer 32

Attacked by predator send alarm pheromone into air and tell others escape.
Do not have chemical receptor we are blind to it
But if animal can learn about pheromone, they can intercept with it = learnt by predators

Question 33

Outline bats and their hearing

Answer 33

Echolocation - bats produce sound and listen to echoes
Flying in dark, tracking and catching prey
Bastelle Bat has quieter echoes and clicks overcome moths hearing them

Question 34

Outline Magnetic Sensitivity

Answer 34

Sensitivity to magnetic fields: pigeons, bats, migrating fish, bees, ants, cattle, sea turtles
Help with navigation

Question 35

Outline Lohmann et al 2004 research in to magnetic sensitivity

Answer 35

Sea turtles: can distinguish different locations by magnetic field
Captured sea turtles, put them in pool surrounding by coil controlled by magnetic field. Exposed to field 337km north or south. Those expose to north field orientated themselves to south, those exposed to south field swam north