PSYO 2160 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Zebra Finch, Behavioral Ecology, Optimality Theory

• School: Dalhousie University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYO 2160
• Professor: Simon Gadbois

Document Summary

Introduction: perspectives in the study of animal behaviour. Zebra finch are an important animal model in neuroscience. Sometimes, a model system will be used based on the logical of a simple system approach. You have an animal with neurons big enough to almost see them with the naked eye. Rodents were used historical because they reproduce quickly, they are small, they are available. At the time watson was looking to get peoples attention, he wanted an animal that could learn quickly. Since then, we have rationalized the rat model. Outside of primates, rodents and legamorphs(rabbits) are the closest to humans. Interest in processes: e. g. , theory of mind in apes, reproductive suppression in. Interest in patterns: e. g. , dominance in arctic foxes. Interest in broad questions in relation to animals: e. g. , conservation, development, etc. Conceptual approaches: examples: kin selection vs. group selection. Group selection was the dominant theory in the 50s and 60s, and then kin selection was created in the 70s.