George Romanes

Question 1

Why was Romanes considered Darwins heir?

Answer 1

Darwin gave him his notes in 1874. Romanes expanded these with anecdotal evidence and experimental results.

Question 2

What criteria did Romanes establish was needed to prove that an animal had a mind?

Answer 2

It must have a nervous system.
Its behaviour must be sensitive to past experience (i.e. the organism shows capacity for ‘memory’ or ‘learning’ eg habituation)

Question 3

What was Romanes’ theory of evolution and how did that impact his consideration of mental capacity?

Answer 3

Theorised linear evolution; you could therefore rate animal intelligence against species. Lamarckian inheritance also played a role in mental evolution - habits adopted by animals can be passed on to offspring.

Question 4

Explain recapitulation theory

Answer 4

'’Ontogeny’ recapitulates ‘phylogeny’’
Means if you study the development of a foetus, you should gain insight into evolution. The same is implied for the study of child intellectual development and mental evolution.

Question 5

List Romanes’ hierarchy for emotive processes

Answer 5

• pleasure/pain
• surprise/fear
• parental affection
• jealousy
• sympathy
• revenge
• shame

Question 6

List Romanes’s hierarchy for cognitive processes

Answer 6

• memory
• association by contiguity
• communicating ideas
• recognising pictures
• understanding mechanisms
• use of tools