Organization & Coordination Flashcards
what is a pattern
a definite arrangment of objects in space and time
can be biological (school of fish)
inanimate (dirt)
what are pattern formation processes
going from a simple rule to a complex process
external: i.e. a soccer team
internal: self organized using local information
e.g. termites: add soil (rule 1); rule 2 if cement add more, rule 3 if center established this will be royal room
elements of self organizing systems
leadership
blueprint
recipe
model (template)
feedback loops (negative, positive, threshold)
LEADERSHIP
central authority; overarching information and member instruction
i.e. matriarchal elephant or duckling following mom
limit: needs good communication and a sophisticated central planner—> all burden placed on 1 individual
not good for large groups
blueprint (plan)
the ‘what’
no cognigition required
limit:
every individual given a genetic blueprint–> but hard to understand how coding becomes an instruction as coding is also costly
if animals all have same blueprint; same goal/behaviour should be there
recipe
genetically programmed behaviour sequences; the how and what
no cognition required
step by step instructions
decentralized control (no leader)
i.e. spider makes a web
limit: no flexibllity, only for solitary individuals; not good for group building and cooperation
template (model)
ready to use, idea-centered
rna to dna transcription processes
i..e bird builds a nest using its own wing length
limit: not always available, not flexible, ‘from scatch’ idea
examples of self organizing biological systems
fish schools (speed and porition of neighbours)
bees clustering together in winter (metabolism and temperature; move to regulate)
lions hunting (when hungry go hunt)
ant trails (find food; return to nest and lay chemical trail, if you find trail follow others)
how to study self organization
using models and computer simulations
ideal computer simulations —> limits?
bottom up based ideal but this requires a detailed emptirical study of individuals within a
more likely things are unknown, hence models better for PREDICTIONS but not ULTIMATE
misconceptions about studying models
- models created not based on data–> they GUIDE predictions of unknowns
- self organizign models predicting better than human mind as human minds bad at predictions in large group (intuition)
- simplifies nature
- complex structures dont require complex rules
- dont ahve scientific basis; more of a rule of thumb
what creates self organization in biological systems
negative feedback loops (homeostatis)
positive feedback
response thresholds
negative feedback loops
homeostatis; physiologically led
regulates unwanted flucutations in a living system i.e. temperature blood sugar
inhibition
positive feedback
creates pattrens; promotes changes in a system
‘stimgery’ lead; local environment and work in processs
leads to snowball effects
e/g/ aggregation of birds; i nest wher eyou nest untilll overcrowded…. negative loops start
response threshold
when a stimulus reaches a thresholdd; change behaviour
e.g. bumble bee ‘fanning’ when hot; division of labour depending on an individuals’ threshold leads to SPECIALISTS
individuals ahve different thresholds (epigenetic/genetic)–> i.e. in mice age sex persoality impacts their role
what is the coordination of behaviour
how individual behaviour leads to collective group behaviour despite interindividual conflicts
i.e. hunt coordination
what methods can one use to study group coordination
- agent based models
- game theory
- RLS data
agent based models
computer simulations of self organizing models (reylolds 1986)
‘together but apart’:
separation–> avoid crowding
alignment–> steer in concspecific direction
cohesion–>r emain close
game theory
coordination of social dillemnas such as:
battle of the sexes
tragedy of the commons
RLS data examples
chimps decide when and where to travel together
chacma baboons take up to 3 hours to move
honey bees find new nest sites using scouts and majority dancing= positive feedback loop (quorom method)
if interests overlap… decisions are made (local and global)
local: self organized
global: quorum
if interests diverge… decisions are made (local and global)
local: avoid
global: consensus–>
consistent leadership –> unshared
/distributed leadership–> shared or partially shared
local and global variables in coordinated behaviour
local: internal state and information on neighbours
global: environmental information
example of coordinated behaviour
coordinated hunting; group intiation, cohesion
LIONS: lion hungry—> motivate hunt as others get hungry (no cognition)
CHIMPS: different roles (abushers, blocker, driver, chaser) that are age-dependent and require different cognitive skills
i.e. chaser needs awareness of distance and speed, driver needs to understand direction of external entity and anticipate route—> connotes an understanding of self and global language of the environment
what mechanisms aid in overlapping interests coordination of behaviour
quorum
information pooling
quorum
no centralized control; group decision based on local and global information (FOLLOW MAJORITY)
choosing often correlates with what individuals are already choosing (based on information pooling)
e.g. meercats move using calls made during foraging
information pooling
integration of potentially wrong information available to everyone
i.e. large group judge better thtan small ones
e.g. wild dogs ‘sneeze’ to vote whether to leave and dominance effect included
conditions of information pooling
aggregating mechanisms
diversity of opinion
decentralization
independence of opinions
what processes lead to coordination during diverging interests
consensus
leadership
what is consensus
non random, differential effect on group behaviour of conspecifics via actions eliciting effect
is is:
ACHIEVED: dominance, energy, age, sex
ASCRIBED: rank, sex personality
adaptive value of consensus categories
age= older leaders more knolwedge on socioecology
knolwedge; more experienced individuals are preferred i.e. golten shiner fish
dominance individuals spreffered; chacma baboons; use social relationships and physical advantage/coalition building as opposed to coercion and puhismment
personality: bold individuals take lead, shy ones follow; positive feedback loop
energetic state: temporary leaders can emerge due to energy differentiatls (low energy= leader; such asin lions); hungrier animals take intiaitve more
types of leadership
personal (consistent); high rank; unshared decision making
distributed: individuals share decisions (tradeoffs for consensus)
how to lead?
PASSIVE; cosnquence of large group + no active communicaiton;
information differences
personality/dominance
follow simple rules
ACTIVE: (potential) leaders signal intentions and others choose to follow or not; communicaiton intiaties and leads activites
examples of decision making in animals that lead to coordinated behaviour
bee best dance/meerkat moving calls (quorum)
dolphin knowledge shifts group
gorilla stiff posture, fixed gaze and grunts
macaques vocalize preffered directions
chimps use hoos and food grunts
how is group behaviour goverenend
aggression and affilitation
conflict management methods
- prevent
- restrain
- restore
prevention of conflict management
tolerance
avoidance
dominance/submission: i.e signals, displays: pant grunt, bared deeth
restraining conflict
submission
3rd part interventions
restoring conflict
reconcillation
redirection
consolation
pro and con of aggression
pro; resources
con; stills goroup, stress, death, stress
post-conflict behaviour (dewaal)
higher affilitative interactions between former opponents
function of reconcillation
reduce aggression
reduce stress
repaire relationships
but costs of renewed agggression….
+ function to REPAIRE but not IMPROVE relationship (silk 1996)
long tailed macaque and reeconcillation (Aureli and Van Schaik 1991)
higher rchance of reattack post conflict so reconcillation reduces stress behaviour and reattack likelihood
macaques liv ein matrillines= kins cooperate and have more post conflict reocniclation
friendly behaviour= relaxing parasite search wound care;;
strongest in first 3 minutes of post reconcillatin; lowers fear and stress (cortisol)
uncertaintiy reduction hypotheis
restoraiton functions to reduce anxiety and risk of rewned attack
relational hypothesis
good relationship equaltiy has highre reconcillation (kin strong especially)
arnhem chimpanzee reconcillation studies
behaviour consolation; benefits consoling individuals (less opponent aggresion)
adults invest more in affillitative interactions (patrilocal)
conslation
bystanders console victims; sign of empathy and emotional contagion
TY
third party consolation
bystanders console victims; sign of empathy and emotional contagon
function: reduce stress (scratches) but aggressors show no tsress; so stress not needed for consolation; rather a form of THIRD PARTY affilitation to protect self from future aggr3ssion
exeption: kin
what can individuals do when there is a conflcit
tolerance, avoideance or aggression
and then reonccillation
good relationships ahve..
afillitative behaviour like grooming, social prxomity, cooperation, sharing etc.
long-term investment into a dyad; dependin on intrinsitc qualities, tendency to act and availlibility
what is afillitative behaviour influence by
rank and kinship and friendship
higher-ranking tend to be more prosocial, but especially to kin
benefits of afillitative behaviour
boosts infant survival
mating success
group harmony
gain protection and coalition support
cooperative care
proximate explanations of good relationships
content
euqality/patterns
calcualted reciprocity
recprocal altruism
cooepration
moitivaiton
decisionmaking
prosociality
ultimate explanatiosn of good relationships
maximize gain
minimize loss via investemtns
cooperate more
boost pyschological and physical wellbeing and survival
food sharing
post conflict reocncillation
colatiion support
enhance rperoductive output
female to female relationship benefits
infant survival (i.e. baboons)
friendship/cooperative care and support
female to male benefits
infant survival/infanticide protection
male protection (from harrassemtn)
cooerpative care i.e. chacma baboons
mating success (access; r maacques)
male to male friendship
mating success aid i.e. dol[hins
mate guarding
coalition support
how is reciprocity acheived
recprocal altruism
recognizing others
memory
trivers 1972= calcualted reciprocity
types or reciprocity
exchange; i.e. grooming for goroming
interchange; grooming for infant handling or support
in dominance hierachies; these are upwards
increarsing cognitive capacities in reciprocity in…
knowing others
knowing relationships(kinship, domiannce etc)
emergent from encounters
symmetry
emotional bookeeping
calculated reciproctiy (remmeber and return)
massen et al 2010: friendship is in all animals!
measures of good relationships : sociality index
frequenvy
diversity
symmetry (balanced or 1 sided)
tenor (hostile or friendly)
tension (tense/tolerance)
predictabillity
stabillity
