Psychology 2210A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Optimal Foraging Theory, Ideal Free Distribution, Net Energy Gain

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2210A/B
• Professor: Krista Macpherson

Document Summary

Decision making - the cognitive process of selecting one course of action over a variety of options. Choice the outcome of a decision making process: verbal or motor response. The energy acquired from food consumption is offset by the energy expended to obtain it: optimal foraging theory is a formalization of this idea. Central place foraging: animals collect resources and carry them back to nest/home are central place foragers (chipmunks, investing a lot of energy travelling far then going to collect more food due to expended energy of the travel. The farther you travel the more food you will bring back. Not just travel time but also handling: how long does it take to extract and consume food item, sometimes animals will choose to forage on food that is harder to find than other more accessible food. Optimal foraging theory assumes that net energy gain during foraging is associated with increased fitness.