Animal Cognition

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Animal Cognition

• Outline
• The module investigates other species ability to
  learn, think and solve problems. We also consider
  how far the abilities of other species resemble
  our own.
• The first half of the course considers learning,
  later sessions examine other abilities.
• Assesment
• Three class tests (20) and an unseen exam (80)
• Set text
• Wynne, C.D.L. (2001). Animal Cognition.
  Basingstoke Palgrave

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Aims

• By the end of todays session you should be able
  to
• Describe key approaches to the study of animal
  behaviour
• Identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of
  different methodologies for studying animal
  behaviour
• Contrast proximate and ultimate causes of
  behaviour

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Comparative Psychology is the scientific study of
animal behaviour.

• It's roots go back at least to the 19th century.
• As well as On the origin of species (1859)
  Charles Darwin published works on animal
  behaviour, including The expression of emotions
  in man and animals (1872).

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Evolution

• Darwins theory of evolution depends on three
  principles
• Variation. There are differences between
  individuals
• Transmission. Parents pass their characteristics
  on to their offspring
• Natural selection. Some characteristics make it
  more likely that individuals will reproduce
  successfully.
• If a particular behaviour pattern is claimed to
  have been selected through evolution then that it
  should be possible to show that the behaviour
  directly or indirectly increased reproductive
  success.

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When studying animal behaviour we can ask two
types of questions

• What Alcock (1993) calls 'how' questions.
• How does a given individual produce the
  behaviour.
• Such explanations could include the brain
  mechanisms producing the behaviour or the role of
  environmental stimuli and learning.
• Concerned with the immediate or proximal causes
  of behaviour.
• What Alcock (1993) calls 'why' questions
• Why does the individual posses the ability?
• Focus on the distal or ultimate causes of
  behaviour. How the individual came to be
  'designed' in such a way as to be capable of
  displaying the behaviour.
• 'Why' questions ask what benefits the ability
  provides which allowed it to evolve. The adaptive
  significance of the behaviour.

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Birdsong as an example

• Many species of bird sing.
• How questions
• What brain structures are involved in learning
  production of song
• How do environmental stimuli influence the song
  produced.
• In white-crowned sparrows individuals learn their
  regional dialect during a critical period (Marler
  Tamura, 1964)
• The ability to produce a normal song in adulthood
  also requires practice during a later stage of
  development (Konishi, 1964).

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Birdsong as an example

• Why questions
• Why do some species sing, when others dont
• Why do some species learn their song, while
  others have an innate song.
• What functions does song serve?
• Dialects might contribute to the separation of
  populations.
• In laboratory studies female sparrows do prefer
  familiar songs (Baker, Spitler-Nabors Bradley,
  1982).
• However, observations in the wild suggest dialect
  isnt a major influence on mate choice (Chilton,
  Lein Baptista, 1990).

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Three big questions

• How can we study the mental abilities of other
  species?
• How do nature nurture contribute to animal
  behaviour?
• What do the answers to these questions tell us
  about human behaviour?

9
Animal intelligence

• Brain weight is roughly proportional to body
  weight.
• By expressing brain weight as a function of body
  weight, it is possible to obtain a measure of
  relative brain weight.
• We can ask whether differences in brain size are
  associated with differences in general
  intelligence or with differences in particular
  specialized abilities.
• We can also ask whether the rapid expansion of
  the brain in human evolution was a cause or
  consequence of changes in behaviour.

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Cephalization index Brain weight/body weight2/3.
Data from Russell (1979)
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Comparing species

• Angermeier (1984) reviewed studies of the number
  of rewards necessary to train animals to repeat a
  simple response.
• Species Guessed rank Actual rank Number
• (1 fastest learner) of rewards
  needed
• Bees
• Koi Carp
• Chickens
• Rats
• Human Infants

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Studying animal abilities

• Researchers need to be careful to draw justified
  conclusions from their observations. One danger
  is anthropomorphism, interpreting the behaviour
  of other species as if they were human.
• Lloyd Morgans cannon
• In no case may we interpret an action as the
  outcome of the exercise of a higher psychical
  faculty if it can be interpreted as the outcome
  of the exercise of one which stands lower in the
  psychological scale Morgan (1894)

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Two approaches to the study of animal behaviour

• American comparative psychology was influenced by
  behaviourism.
• In mainland Europe, research into animal
  behaviour was influenced by Ethology.
• Both approaches tended to view animal behaviour
  as mechanistic.
• Interest in Animal Cognition is a more recent
  development.

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Behaviourism

• Founded by John B Watson (1913) who declared
  objective behaviour to be the only legitimate
  focus of psychology.
• Saw Pavlov's research as providing the basis for
  understanding behaviour. Early theorists argued
  that all psychological events were built up from
  stimulus response links.
• Research following on from this tradition
  involves laboratory study under controlled
  conditions.
• Often this research ignored possible species
  differences.
• Different strands within the comparative
  tradition differed in their views about the role
  of theory and the status of intervening events
  such as mental representations.

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Ethology

• Developed primarily in Europe. Ethology focussed
  on the observation of naturally occurring
  behaviour.
• Famous early ethologists include Konrad Lorenz
  Niko Tinbergen. Lorenz is famous for his work on
  imprinting by young ducks on their mother.
  Tinbergen studied the begging response in gull
  chicks.
• Explanations focus on instinctive behaviour
  patterns.
• Differences between species were studied to
  identify the functions of particular traits.
• Tinbergen (1963) argued that we need to
  understand the mechanisms, development, survival
  value and evolution of behaviour.

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• The ethologists argued that instinctive behaviour
  should be
• Stereotyped
• Species-specific
• Appear in isolated individuals
• Not require practice
• Lorenz Tinbergen, (1938)
• Early work in this tradition typically studied
  behaviours which met these criteria. However,
  modern approaches take a less restrictive view of
  instinct and do not draw as rigid a line between
  genetic and environmental influences. Genes and
  environment commonly interact.

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Further Reading

• Chapter one in Wynne (2001) Animal Cognition
  provides a good general introduction to some of
  the issues discussed.
• Chapter nine considers species differences in
  intelligence.
• Several classic papers including Watsons
  description of behaviourism Psychology as the
  Behaviourist sees it and papers by Darwin are
  available from Christopher Greens Classics in
  the History of Psychology site
  http//psychclassics.asu.edu/index.htm

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Seminars
For seminars today youll be in the following
rooms. On weeks where there is a practical
demonstration or class test arrangements will
differ. See the seminar timetable for details.
Sessions with Sniffy are in the NT lab (T013).
NB an early version of this slide showed some
rooms as N block, rather than E block, rooms.
Groups may be reallocated based on attendance in
week one.