Methods after first midterm: 9 Measuring neural and behavioural processes

Question 1

2 types of observational methods

Answer 1

quantitative (systematic observatinos; frequency, duration)
and qualitative (descriptive and interpretive, subjective)

Question 2

what are ostensive definitions

Answer 2

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

Question 3

why is defining behaviours important - ostensive definitions

Answer 3

the magnitude of a behaviour e.g. gerbils biting vs nibbling

Question 4

types of observational observations

Answer 4

1. naturalistic obvservations (lab)

2. systematic obvservations (field or lab)

Question 5

what are we measuring in observational approach?

Answer 5

events (dynamic) ex: behavioural, electrophysiological and states (static) ex: signs, symptoms, traits , binary info (yes/no)

Question 6

definition________: catalog/list of behaviours going to observe to help with ostensive definitions

Answer 6

ethogram

Question 7

how do we describe dynamic processes

Answer 7

studying the causes/ triggers of a process, studying the process itself, studying the consequences of a process on an organism

Question 8

order of the start of studying behavioural patterns

Answer 8

choose:
species
individuals/groups
behaviours
measures
sampling rules
recording rules

Question 9

when studying a single behaviour what are you looking at

Answer 9

• direct obvs of behaviour: often qualitative, idiographic, longitudinal and descriptives
• interest in patterns of behaviour (more or less stereotyped movements or actions)

Question 10

describe intra-observer consistency

Answer 10

when each observer records or interprets behaviours the same way by themselves

Question 11

decribe inter-observer consistency

Answer 11

consistency of recording and scoring between all observing

Question 12

what does “define the boundaries” within observational researchers mean

Answer 12

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

Question 13

types of sampling methodologies

Answer 13

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)

Question 14

what are kappa coefficients/ kenall coefficients?

Answer 14

indexes of concordance - the score of consistency of recording and scoring between all the observers.

Question 15

what is ad libitum sampling

Answer 15

sitting down to observe ans taking not of what you find interesting - no constrainsts on what is recorded and when it is recorded

Question 16

explain time sampling - continuous recording

Answer 16

all-occurances are recorded or scored

Question 17

explain time sampling - instantaneous sampling:

Answer 17

on the beep is behaviour occuring? score yes or no

good for long durations events or common events

Question 18

explain microstructure of behaviour

Answer 18

(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)

Question 19

explain the macrostructure of behaviour

Answer 19

(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

Question 20

what is original class of thought about behaviour

Answer 20

behaviour comes from motion/ movement

Question 21

what is common between “motivation, “emotion”, “hormone”, “endocrine”

Answer 21

they all carry the meaning of motion

Question 22

Parameter: number or count (describe diff b/w occurance and frequency)

Answer 22

occurance: how many times
frequency: how often

Question 23

parameter: latency - explain

Answer 23

time between behaviours

ex: reaction time

Question 24

parameter: duration

Answer 24

the length the behvaiour - start and stop are important

Question 25

parameter: intensity

Answer 25

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

Question 26

parameter: sequences

Answer 26

sequence of movements labeled as a behaviour

- spatio temporal configurations, patterns

Question 27

sequential analysis

Answer 27

extracting patterns

Question 28

what does stochastic within sequential analysis mean

Answer 28

how stereotyped or predictable a sequence of events is
- the likelihood of how random a sequential sequence is
0% - random
100% - determine/ predictable

Question 29

tools for sequential designs

Answer 29

quantitative:

markovian analysis, information theory analysis, log-linear analysis, time series analysis

Question 30

corollaries

Answer 30

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

Question 31

how do we analysze sequences - decoding

Answer 31

starts with monograms and then go upwards

Question 32

contexual analysis while interpreting stochastic processes

Answer 32

putting the sequences into context and being able to predict

Question 33

what do people assume when doing behaviour analysis that may create mistakes

Answer 33

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

Question 34

what are some endogenous factors

Answer 34

metabolism, affect, “motivation”, immune system integrity, reproductive status

Question 35

what are some exogenous factors

Answer 35

the stimulus (duration & intensity)
the context