Reflections in the Mirror: Who

1
Reflections in the Mirror Who?

• WFSC 422 Ethology
• Presentation 1.2

Dr. Jane M. Packard, WFSC TAMU j-packard_at_tamu.edu
2
What is Folk Psychology?

• A reflection of our own minds
• Explaining behavior in terms of
• Desires- the dog wants
• Beliefs- the dog thinks
• Emotions- the dog feels
• Not a scientific perspective (evidence?)
• Test it!- how do I know what you feel?
• Mental models- personal experience varies

3
Scientific Perspective Helps us...

• Move beyond Folk Psychology (FP)-toward a more
  scientific mindset
• Test which of our mental models best match
  reality
• Increase understanding from 4 angles of view
• How? (Cause Development)
• Why? (Evolution Function)
• Our explanations for behavior are reflections of
  the questions we ask myth (FP) or science
  (CDEF)?

4
Who shaped these questions? Nobel laureates!

• Dr. Niko Tinbergen- well known
• Dr. Konrad Lorenz- well known
• Dr. Karl von Frisch- not in textbook
• Not as interactive in English conferences
• Dedicated, reclusive scientist
• Studied dance language of honeybees

5
Konrad Lorenz- imprinting

• Austria/Germany
• Ducks geese
• How? Cause of imprinting, courtship displays
• Why? Survival value of imprinting comparison of
  species

6
Niko Tinbergen- 4 Qs

• Holland/England
• How? ZIG-ZAG dance of male stickleback to female
  stimulus
• Why? The ZIG-ZAG genotype instinctively did it
  right the first time passed on more copies of
  the genotype
• The four basic questions Cause? Development?
  Evolution? Function?

7
Basic Qs in Ethology?

• How?
• Cause- How does the stimulus cause the response?
• Development- How does the response change with
  age? What is heritable?
• Why?
• Evolution- Why do species differ?
• Function- Why is survival/repro affected
  differently for each variant of the trait?

8
Effects of modern technology

• Neuroethologists
• Comparative psychologists Sociobiologists
• Behaviorists cognitive ethologists
• Behavioral ecologists Field biologists

• Biomedical technology
• Genetic markers
• Automated Skinner boxes
• Remote sensing with radio telemetry, video cams

9
Action Items

• Do answers for Q1.2 1.3
• Search Google Scholar for Lorenz Tinbergen
• Post sources on WebCT discussion for Unit 1