Methods after first midterm: 9 Measuring neural and behavioural processes Flashcards
2 types of observational methods
quantitative (systematic observatinos; frequency, duration) and qualitative (descriptive and interpretive, subjective)
what are ostensive definitions
Allow you to define a behaviour so everyone can agree what it looks like
Can measure behaviour in sense of counting it
Can evaluatie duration of that behaviour
Can come up with interval info - between first and second operance of that behaviour ___ time passed
Can define intensity of behaviour - gerbils fighting
why is defining behaviours important - ostensive definitions
the magnitude of a behaviour e.g. gerbils biting vs nibbling
types of observational observations
- naturalistic obvservations (lab)
2. systematic obvservations (field or lab)
what are we measuring in observational approach?
events (dynamic) ex: behavioural, electrophysiological and states (static) ex: signs, symptoms, traits , binary info (yes/no)
definition________: catalog/list of behaviours going to observe to help with ostensive definitions
ethogram
how do we describe dynamic processes
studying the causes/ triggers of a process, studying the process itself, studying the consequences of a process on an organism
order of the start of studying behavioural patterns
choose: species individuals/groups behaviours measures sampling rules recording rules
when studying a single behaviour what are you looking at
- direct obvs of behaviour: often qualitative, idiographic, longitudinal and descriptives
- interest in patterns of behaviour (more or less stereotyped movements or actions)
describe intra-observer consistency
when each observer records or interprets behaviours the same way by themselves
decribe inter-observer consistency
consistency of recording and scoring between all observing
what does “define the boundaries” within observational researchers mean
good to define where a behaviour starts and stop - “bouts” - and clusters of behaviours, acts, actions or events - hard to do but important when counting behaviours
types of sampling methodologies
behaviour or event sampling: focus on specific, target, behaviours (ex: everytime jack yawns)
scan or time sampleing: focus on specific time periods/ intervals (every 5 minutes take 1 min of data example)
focal or individual sampling: focus on one animal/ individual (ex: focusing on observing one gorilla)
what are kappa coefficients/ kenall coefficients?
indexes of concordance - the score of consistency of recording and scoring between all the observers.
what is ad libitum sampling
sitting down to observe ans taking not of what you find interesting - no constrainsts on what is recorded and when it is recorded
explain time sampling - continuous recording
all-occurances are recorded or scored
explain time sampling - instantaneous sampling:
on the beep is behaviour occuring? score yes or no
good for long durations events or common events
explain microstructure of behaviour
(why? - know of an issue trying to analyze whats causing it) gives goldmind of info - good for neuroscience and a detailed observation of behaviour
good for social/ forensics psychology (ex: facial detections at airport - angry french man)
explain the macrostructure of behaviour
(whats happening big picture; don’t know what the issue is ex: fish are dying but don’t know why) generally processes - ex: behavioural ecotoxicilogy (Judy Vice) decrease predator avoidance and decreased prey-capture rates
what is original class of thought about behaviour
behaviour comes from motion/ movement
what is common between “motivation, “emotion”, “hormone”, “endocrine”
they all carry the meaning of motion
Parameter: number or count (describe diff b/w occurance and frequency)
occurance: how many times
frequency: how often
parameter: latency - explain
time between behaviours
ex: reaction time
parameter: duration
the length the behvaiour - start and stop are important
parameter: intensity
diff between punching and play punch;
- the latency between each punch would tell you something as well (kinematics)
- amplitude or physical quantity
rating could be with a likert scale to rate intensity
parameter: sequences
sequence of movements labeled as a behaviour
- spatio temporal configurations, patterns
sequential analysis
extracting patterns
what does stochastic within sequential analysis mean
how stereotyped or predictable a sequence of events is
- the likelihood of how random a sequential sequence is
0% - random
100% - determine/ predictable
tools for sequential designs
quantitative:
markovian analysis, information theory analysis, log-linear analysis, time series analysis
corollaries
how important is the order of the things within a sequence - is it a code
ex: zodiac killer code
- frequency of patterns if they meaning/ importance in time and space
how do we analysze sequences - decoding
starts with monograms and then go upwards
contexual analysis while interpreting stochastic processes
putting the sequences into context and being able to predict
what do people assume when doing behaviour analysis that may create mistakes
sequences can change
sequences can modulated by the context of a situation
ex: a person making toast, and then the same person making toast drunk
what are some endogenous factors
metabolism, affect, “motivation”, immune system integrity, reproductive status
what are some exogenous factors
the stimulus (duration & intensity) the context
