The Ecology and Evolution of Animal Behavior: A Comprehensive Guide
Lecture 7: Biodiversity and Fitness
Avoiding Confirmation Bias
- Double-blind experiments and randomization
Survivorship Bias
- Focus on winners over losers and successes over failures
Reasons for Biodiversity Loss
- Loss of habitat
- Overexploitation
- Introduced species
- Pollution
- Global climate change
Approximating Endangerment
- Number of individuals in a population
- Number of breeding individuals
- Variation in breeding success
- Sex ratios
- Factors affecting genetic variation
Fitness
- Quantitative representation of reproductive
Understanding Human Needs in Health and Wellbeing
Health and Wellbeing
Health is a psychobiological, social, dynamic, relative, and highly variable phenomenon. In humans, it corresponds to a state of physiological and ecological balance and social adjustment, encompassing all the possibilities of the human body against the complexities of the social environment.
Understanding Needs
Necessity: We define a necessity as something everyone requires to maintain their life, health, and wellbeing.
Types of Needs:
- Biological Needs: These needs affect the individual’
Psychological Studies: Exploring Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior
Pepperberg’s Study on Animal Categorization
Aim:
To investigate whether animals can understand the concept of difference and similarity through categorization.
Sample:
Alex, an African grey parrot, who was already familiar with over 80 objects.
Procedure:
Alex was shown objects that differed in shape, color, and material. He was then asked to identify the similarities and differences between the objects. An independent observer tested him while the primary trainer translated his responses. If Alex answered
Read MoreUnderstanding Cultural Dimensions in International Business
Ch. 2 Dimensions of Culture
Universalism vs. Particularism (Rules vs. Relationships)
• Universalism vs. Particularism (rules vs. relationships)
• Individualism vs. Communitarianism (the individual vs. the group)
• Neutral vs. Affective Cultures (the degree to which feelings are expressed)
• Specific vs. Diffuse Cultures (the degree of involvement)
• Achievement vs. Ascription Cultures (how status is accorded)
Universalism vs. Particularism
- Universalist, or rule-based, behavior tends to be abstract.
Foundations of Psychology: From Structuralism to Cognitive Approaches
CH1:TOPIC 1
Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior & mental processes. Psychologists approach human behavior as scientists who think critically & who are curious, skeptical, & objective. Two founders of the science of psychology are Wilhelm Wundt & William James. What was so special about this experiment? Wundt’s study was about the workings of the brain: He was trying to measure the time it took the human brain & nervous system to translate information into action.
Read MoreUnderstanding Emotions, Moods, and Feelings: Psychological Insights
Properties of Emotion:
- Emotion: immediate, relatively brief, response to env or thoughts
- Involves conscious feelings, physiological response, changes in behavior
VS Mood:
- Slow, long lasting, general state
- No identifiable triggering events
Feeling:
- Subjective sense of an emotion
- One part of an emotional response
Components:
- Subjective feeling
- Physiological reaction
- Behavioral responses (cognitive process)
Common Sense:
- Events cause fear
- Fear → physiological response and changes in overt behavior
- Subjective experience