Ethology

Ethology: study of the evolutionary significance of behaviors of a species in its natural surroundings. Sociobiology: genetic basis of human social behavior Evolutionary Psychology: origins of cognition in our species adaptation to the environment

Orientation to the Components of Ethology Species-Specific Innate Behavior Within species are the same, inherited, and adaptive (e.g., reflexes, fixed action patterns) Evolutionary Perspective Concentration is on Pyhologenetic change (species level) over Ontogenetic (individual) Learning Predispostions Critical or sensitive periods, imprinting Ethological methodology Naturalistic Observation and lab experiments

Human Relevant Contributions of the Theory Infant-Caretaker Attachment (6-9 months) Bowlby Grasping, embracing, crying, babbling, smiling, facial imitation all facilitate attachment/bonding and survival. Ainsworth Secure “emotional” base. Charlesworth Social, physical, and informational “blocks”

Strengths and Weaknesses Contribution to our understanding of attachment, social dominance, and some aspects of children’s problem solving Broad in scope, provides much in the way of hypothesis building Weaknesses: More descriptive than explanatory. Difficult to carry out controlled experiments. Appeal to “sensitive and critical” periods raises the homunculus problem.

Evolutionary Psychologists at Work An Interview with Steven Pinkert http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3554279466299738997&q=Steven+Pinker&time=1410000