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BIOL 278: Book bold terms

Terms in this set (61)

Observing the mental processes of non-human animals
Comparative psychology
Give an example of comparative psychology using a rat and a lever
We observe that a rat pushes a lever to release food. We can conclude, however, that the rat does that because it makes some association in its brain. the link strengthens each time the rat repeats the action.
the idea to reduce variables in order to study individual traits of animals through observation and experimentation
ethology
give an example of ethology using the fly-cocoon example.
males deliver empty silk balloons to females before mating. an explanation of this is that ancestral flies may have contained food within that balloons. males could have scaled the gift back, but could be considered courtship still.
internally coordinated, externally visible pattern of activity that is a response to changing external or internal conditions
animal behavior
what is an "internally/externally coordinated" behavior
internally - endocrine/sensory info/neurotransmitters (cellular reasoning)

externally - observable, measurable patterns.
formal description of an animal's behavior
ethogram
ethograms measure a behavior's..
frequency
duration
rate
intensity
the alternative hypothesis says that the explanation...
has a significant effect
the null hypothesis says that the explanation...
does not have a significant effect
When did humans watch animals to better guess what they'll do next?
dawn of humanity
(When) - first attempts to apply science to behavior, but most attempts were horribly flawed and biased
19th century
(when) first careful studies of wild and captive animals, made the two major branches of research (comparative psych and ethology)
early 20th century
(when) application of ethological theories to social behaviors and to human behaviors, first studies of the genetic basis of behaviors
late 20th century
(when) use of tools, from cheap genetic analysis to drone to computer simulations
early 21st century
published origin of species, 1859
darwin
founder of ethology, studied geese imprinting, won nobel prize
Lorenz
Founder of ethology, created the 4 questions of behavior research
Tinbergen
Studied honey bee waggle dance (found language in bees)
Karl von Frisch
Created the "pavlov's dogs" experiment, developed idea of conditioning
Pavlov
Developed methods for testing and learning operant conditioning
skinner
a summary o the total time and relative frequency of different behaviors of an individual
time budget
observing events, organizing knowledge, providing explanations through the formulation and testing of hypotheses
process of science
explanation based on assumptions that makes a testable prediction
hypothesis
formal statement of an unknown that begins the scientific process
research question
proposed explanation for an observation does significantly affect organism behavior
alt. hypothesis
proposed explanation for an observation does not significantly affect organism behavior
null hypothesis
outcome in which null hypothesis not rejected, alt. hypothesis rejected.
negative results
two variables that vary together predictably
correlation
hypothesis tested many times and have not been rejected. provide a conceptual framework, explains many phenomena, very well supported
scientific theories
an explanation that focuses on understanding the immediate causes of a behavior
proximate explanations
an explanation that requires evolutionary reasoning and analysis
ultimate explanation
enclosure used to study behavioral conditioning
operant chamber (Skinner box)
attribution of human motivations, characteristics, or emotions to animals
anthropomorphism
the amount of time required to manipulate a food item so that it's ready to eat
handling time
trait found in the common ancestor of two or more species
ancestral or plesiomorphic trait
trait found in an organism that was not present in the last common ancestor of a group of two or more species
derived or apomorphic trait
branching diagram showing hypothesized evolutionary relationships among species.
phylogeny
two species that are more closely related to one another than to any other species; species that share a recent common ancestor
sister species
the violation of ethical behavior standards in science. it includes falsification or fabrication of data, purposefully inappropriate analysis of data, or plagiarism.
scientific misconduct.
ethical guideline that encourages the use of computer modeling, videotapes, or other approaches in place of actual animals
replacement
ethical guideline that promotes limiting # of animals subject to disturbance in research or teaching
reduction
ethical guideline that involves improving procedures and techniques to minimize pain and stress for animals.
refinement
what are the 3 R's?
Replacement, reduction, refinement
original source of scientific info
primary literature
process in which editors of scientific journals ask experts to review submitted papers to determine whether to accept or reject a paper for publication
peer review
a report which often appears in magazines, books, newspapers. summarizes and interprets primary literature
secondary literature
observable traits
phenotype
all alleles and loci that affect the phenotype
genotype
proportion of phenotypic variation in a population that is due to genetic variation
heritability
behavior that is invariant, unlearned, and, once initiated, always completed
fixed action pattern
typical form of organism in nature
wild type
interactions between genes at different loci
epistasis
situation in which a single gene affects more than one phenotypic trait
pleiotropy
procedure where u render a gene non-functional
knockout technique
stretches of DNA that either contain or are linked to genes influencing a trait such as behavior
Quantitative loci map (QTL Map)
statistical technique that combines genetic info with trait info to determine which regions of the genome contain the genes that influence the trait quantitative locis
QTL mapping
process in which gene products are produced
gene expression
one type of genetic and behavioral variant in fruit flies. have longer foraging trails than sitters in the presence of food, more likely to leave a food patch
rover
one type of genetic and behavioral variation in fruit flies. have shorter foraging trails than rovers, less likely to leave food patch
sitters
consistent relative differences in behavior among individuals over time or across different environmental contexts
personality
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