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Learn 1A: Intro
Module 1: Introduction Part 1
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who originally said that change is the only constant? | Roman philosopher Lucretius (2,000 years ago). |
| What was Malthus belief? | (1978) that Population growth would outgrow the earth's limited resources and lead to disaster. |
| Describe Darwin’s theory of adaptation based on natural selection. | When resources are limited, individuals with a competitive advantage become stronger and breed. Over time these differences may grow and result in a different species. |
| Darwin stated that if all members of a species were genetically identical, natural selection would be impossible. Why did he state this? | A competitive advantage requires profitable variation. If there is no variation there is no natural selection |
| Provide examples where change has been very gradual and another example where change has been rapid. (pp. 7–9) | The human brain is complex and developed over centuries. The Soay sheep have become smaller over the last 25 years due to shorter winters and milder weather. |
| Is natural selection likely if there are no significant changes in the species’ surroundings? Explain your answer. (pp. 7, 25) | The individual's present have already optimized for that environment. Without environmental change, there is no natural selection |
| Why do predators play an important role in natural selection? (p. 9) | They consume individuals in an environment with specific traits and alter the gene pool. Those left have a competitive advantage and nature will select them out. eg. gray and black peppered moths. |
| What is a reflex? | A relationship between a specific event and a simple response to that event. eg. the relationship between a speck of dirt and the movement of the eyelid. |
| Provide examples where reflexes may not be useful. (pp. 11–13) | Allergies and seizures |
| Was Darwin aware of the genetic basis for evolution? | No |
| Why do modal action patterns (MAP) contribute to the survival of a species? Give examples. (p. 14) | They help the individual find food, deal with threats, or pass genes to the next generation. eg. Woodpeckers peck to find food. rattlesnakes rattle |
| What are MAP's? | -resemble reflexes but involve an entire organism and is consistent over the species. - strong genetic component - stimulated by releasers -response to few events. |
| Are there modal action patterns in human beings? Discuss the prevailing view of this issue. (p. 15) | - Researchers do not support the idea of MAP's in humans - our shared actions do not have a monotonous character and the differences in culture lead to ritual's that are too varied. |
| Describe the fixed-action pattern of tropical army ants that suggests they are engaging in intelligent behaviour. (pp. 13–14) | Army ants are seen to march in seemingly organized and intelligent campaigns. However, they are only following chemical trails and can be tricked into walking in circles. |
| Define a general behaviour trait. | A tendency to engage in a certain behaviour eg. to be shy, or aggressive. -more variable than MOD's and the response can happen in a wide number of contexts. |
| Describe how genetic engineering has been able to demonstrate the role of genes in behaviour traits. (p. 17) | Gleb Shymyatsky removed a gene from mice - the resulting mice were less cautious on white surfaces. |
| Describe the limits of natural selection with reference to Gordon’s study of guppies. (p. 19) | Natural selection is slow. Gordon placed guppies into a new stream with different predators, the adaptation took between 13-26 generations (8 years). Humans would take more than 200 years |
| What are mutations? | Abrupt changes in genes. |
| Why can hybridization help in species adaptation? Provide an example. (p. 20) | Mating across species can increase gene variability. eg. polar bear and grizzly bear. |
| Learning has been described as the acquisition of behaviour. Why has this definition been rejected? | Because learning does not always involve "acquiring" something. |
| Discuss the evidence that covert speech is essentially a diminutive form of speech. Can unconscious thoughts be considered a behaviour? (pp. 22–23) | stimulation with language area of the brain interfered with both overt and covert speech. Jill Bolte-Taylor suffered a stroke and lost covert and overt speech ability. |
| What is a stimulus? Provide original examples of a stimulus. (p. 24) | physical changes in the environment |
| What is experience? | changes in the environment |
| Are all changes in behaviour due to experience? | Yes. no change in the environment, no change in behaviour |
| Are all experiences learning experiences? Give original examples to support your answers. | No. |
| Define habituation. Provide an example of habituation. | reduced intensity (or probability) of a reflex due to overexposure |
| Do all changes in behaviour, even those resulting from changes in the environment, qualify as learning? Provide examples. (p. 25) | No. Eg. a patient given a sedative. Man goes to sleep but did not learn. Head trauma creating agitation |
| What factors can influence habituation? (p. 26) | variations in the stimulus eg. volume, rate, quality of loud noise |
| What is the focus of the nature-nurture argument? | Learning is attributed to either genetics or environment |
| What is a major problem with casting nature-nurture questions as a debate? | It creates an artuficial division between heredity and learning by implying the answer is one or the other |
| Explain this problem with reference to the idea that humans are (or are not) naturally aggressive. Make reference to the research of Kuo and Wilson. (pp. 28–29) | Wilson (1978) found that the gentle nations of the Kung San of Africa and the Semai of Malaysia were capable of violence when overcrowded (Kung San) or trained to kill by the British (Semai). |
| Describe Hart and Risley’s study of children’s home environments. (pp. 29–30) | children from highly verbal environments scored higher on intelligence tests. |
| Describe why Darwin rejected Malthus’ view of the effects of human population growth. (p. 5) | Darwin: The limited resources in an environment lead to competition in a species those who win out will have a feature of advantage aka Natural Selection |
| Explain why the author endorses the view that change is the only constant. (p. 3) | change is the rule not the exception to the rule and is proven well in nature |
| Identify how general behaviour traits differ from fixed-action patterns. (pp. 16–17) | Fixed action patterns (aka MAP) are related to specific environmental events and the actions are homogenous accross the group. Behaviour traits can occur in many situations and show in different ways across individuals eg. aggression. |
| What is a releaser | stimulus that triggers an MAP eg. chemical trail |
| What are the differences between MAP's and general behaviour traits? | -Behaviour traits occur in a wide number of contexts. eg. a baby bird opening it's mouth vs aggressive behaviour -the response of an MOD is typically uniform accross the species. eg. a shocked rat may display aggressive behaviour |
| How do behaviour traits contribute to survival? | Eg. When there are a lot of foxes around, the rabbits who are timid are more likely to survive than those that stand around. However, when food is limited, rabbits who are aggressive are more likely to survive. |
| Describe the relationship of mutations to survival and natural selection. (p. 20) | Sometimes it provides a competitive advantage help ensure survival of the species. |
| What is Hybridization | the cross breeding of closely related species. |
| What are the limits of natural selection? | Natural selection is slow and the species may go extinct before adaptive changes appear. |
| What is one of the criticisms of Darwin’s theory? (pp. 6–7, 19, 21) | natural selection does not account for the sudden appearance of complex organs like the human eye. |
| Who discovered the genetic basis for natural selection and when? (p. 6) | Austrian Friar Gregor Mendel (1866) due to his work with peas. |
| Learning | a change in behaviour due to a change in the environment. |
Created by:
HarleeM
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