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Early Instinct Approaches

Early Instinct Approaches. Popular in late 1800’s Wm. James and Wm. McDougall Lists. Behaviorists. Criticisms of Instinct Model Nominal Fallacy Confusion with Learning Concept “dies” in Psychology. Ethology. Kept instinct concept “alive” Studied animal behavior

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Early Instinct Approaches

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  1. Early Instinct Approaches • Popular in late 1800’s • Wm. James and Wm. McDougall • Lists

  2. Behaviorists • Criticisms of Instinct Model • Nominal Fallacy • Confusion with Learning • Concept “dies” in Psychology

  3. Ethology • Kept instinct concept “alive” • Studied animal behavior • Evolutionary adaptiveness of behavior • Naturalistic Observation • Simple Experiments • Ethograms • Lorenz and Tinbergen

  4. Ethology Methods • Naturalistic observation • Taxonomy of behavior • Simple demonstration experiments

  5. Ethological Terms • Appetitive Behavior • Consummatory Behavior • Action Specific Energy (ASE) • Innate Releasing Mechanism (IRM) • Key Stimulus (KS) • Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)

  6. Key Stimuli • Sign Stimuli • Social Releaser • Categories of Key Stimuli • Simple • Complex/Configurational • Supernormal

  7. Supernormal Key Stimuli • Cuckoo’s egg and chick • Rowland’s (1989c) Stickleback study • Receptive females • Ceramic males • Normal • 1.5 times normal • Measured preference (distance from model) • Preference for a supernormal stimulus may be advantageous (survival of offspring)

  8. Fixed Action Patterns • Characteristics of FAPS • Stereotyped • Rigid, fixed, species-specific • Independent of Immediate External Control • Graylag goose • FAP vs TAXIS • Spontaneous • Flycatcher • Vacuum Activity • Independent of Learning • Hailman’s Gull experiment

  9. Human Ethology • Eibl-Eibesfeldt • Research • Cross-cultural • Challenged children • Blind • Deaf • retarded

  10. Universality of Facial Expressions • Smiling • Laughing • Weeping • Frowning • Eyebrow Flick

  11. The Eyebrow Flick • Found in his films • 1/6 sec • Part of “greeting ceremony” • Eye contact • Smiling • Raising eyebrows • A FAP • Appeasement gesture

  12. Eye contact in primates • Threat gesture in primates • More complex in humans • Lockhart’s field study

  13. Facial Emotional Expression • Ekman’s group • Research • Cross-cultural • Methods • Japanese/American Study • Display Rules

  14. Facial Feedback Hypothesis • Muscle feedback from face • Ekman, Friesen & Ancoli (1980) • FACS • Zygomatic Major muscles • Strack, Martin & Stepper, (1988) • Larsen, Kasimatis, & Frey, (1992)

  15. Key Stimuli in Humans • Eibl-Eibesfeldt – Physical characteristics of infants • Neoteny and survival value • Human Infant Characteristics • Large head relative to body • Large eyes • Roundedness • Keating et al. (2003) – adults with neotenous faces receive more help

  16. Recent Approaches • Behavioral Ecology – how do behavior and the environment interact? • Cognitive Ethology – information processing in animals • Evolutionary Psychology – human genetically controlled behavior

  17. Behavioral Ecology • Studies the relationships between behaviors and the environment • E.g. Predator-prey interactions • Competition among species members for limited resources • Social interactions in groups • Aggressive behavior • Sexual behavior • Parental Care

  18. Group Membership – Why do many animals live in groups? • Causes competition for resources; however, group membership provides an overall advantage to the individual • Increased protection from predators • Dilution effect • Increased overall vigilance by the group • Alarm signals • Finding new food sources • Following behavior

  19. Cognitive Ethology/Animal Cognition • Studies how animals interpret information • Two main approaches • Conscious awareness not assumed • E.g. Shettleworth, (2001) • Animals have some limited consciousness • Griffin (2001)

  20. Consciousness • Perceptual consciousness • Marking Test (Povinelli et al., 1997) • Reflective consciousness • Self-awareness?

  21. Evolutionary Psychology • “The analysis of the human mind as a collection of evolved mechanisms,” (Buss, 1999, p.47). • Mechanisms to solve specific problems • Decision Rules • Physiological Activity • More decision processes • Behavior

  22. Evolutionary Psychology (Cont.) • Hinsz, Matz & Patience (2001). • Correlational study • Does a woman’s hair provide clues to her reproductive potential? • Such signals common in other animals • Male lions manes and immune system • Birdsong and immune system

  23. Hinsz et al. (2001) found: • Hair length correlated with age • Hair quality correlated with health • Barber (1995) - Male physical appearance serves to communciate: • Social dominance • Female attraction

  24. Hair Length

  25. Social Dominance?

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