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Animal Cognition > Week 5-7 > Flashcards

Week 5-7 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two fundamental cognitive processes that assist animals in day-to-day survival?

A

Time and Number

These processes help animals determine the number of predators and track time since finding food.

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2
Q

What is the more correct term for the abilities we see in animals regarding numerical abilities?

A

Numerical Discrimination

This term is preferred over ‘counting’ when discussing non-human animals.

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3
Q

True or False: True counting and arithmetic are uniquely human skills.

A

True

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4
Q

What is the Approximate Number System (ANS)?

A

An evolutionary number system shared by humans and non-human animals, existing in the absence of culture and language.

The ANS allows for internal representation of approximate magnitudes.

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5
Q

What does Weber’s Law state?

A

The change in stimulus intensity needed for an organism to detect a change is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity.

This law gives rise to Distance and Magnitude effects.

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6
Q

What are the two effects that occur as a result of Weber’s Law?

A
  • Distance Effect
  • Magnitude Effect

The Distance Effect involves easier discrimination of numbers that are farther apart, while the Magnitude Effect suggests smaller numbers are easier to discriminate than larger ones.

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7
Q

Fill in the blank: The Object File System deals only with small numbers, specifically numbers ______.

A

1-4

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8
Q

What did Brannon & Terrace (1998) find regarding laboratory monkeys and counting tasks?

A

Monkeys could solve counting tasks even with new ratios they had never encountered before.

This suggests that their ability to count is not solely based on training effects.

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9
Q

What is the significance of the study by Nieder & Miller (2004) on monkeys?

A

Monkeys showed numerosity selective neurons that fired preferentially to specific numerosities.

These neurons demonstrate a tuning for specific numerical values.

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10
Q

What are the two main systems proposed for numerical abilities in animals?

A
  • Approximate Number System (ANS)
  • Object File System

The ANS is widely accepted, while the Object File System supports a more mixed view.

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11
Q

What is the purpose of circadian/periodic timing in animals?

A

Regulates sleep/wakefulness and is critical for biological systems.

It plays a vital role in migratory species and their behaviors.

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12
Q

What are the components of the SET model?

A
  • Clock
  • Memory
  • Decision

These components work together to provide information about the passage of time.

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13
Q

What is the Temporal Bi-Section Task?

A

A task where animals are trained to differentiate between two time intervals using probe trials.

This task helps in understanding how animals perceive time.

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14
Q

What is the difference between Kinesis and Taxis?

A

Kinesis is non-directional movement in response to stimuli, while Taxis is directional movement towards or away from a stimulus.

Both are fundamental mechanisms of orientation.

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15
Q

What is the role of landmarks in navigation?

A

Landmarks are used as cues when beacons are not available or visible.

They help animals navigate and locate hidden food.

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16
Q

What is the Maffia hypothesis in brood parasitism?

A

A strategy where female brood parasites will harass host birds to prevent them from rejecting their eggs.

This contrasts with the cryptic egg strategy, where the egg is disguised to blend in.

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17
Q

True or False: Female brown-headed cowbirds have a larger hippocampus than males.

A

True

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18
Q

What is the adaptive value of migration?

A

Seasonal movement between spatially distinct habitats that outweighs the costs involved.

Migration often requires enhanced spatial memory.

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19
Q

What are navigational cues?

A
  • Landmarks
  • Beacons
  • Geographic cues

These cues help animals navigate and find food or return home.

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20
Q

Fill in the blank: The process of identifying a specific location regardless of one’s current position is called ______.

A

Navigation

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21
Q

What is cue competition in animal training?

A

Cue competition refers to the situation where animals are trained to locate a target that has a fixed relationship to both environmental cues (landmarks) and fixed cues at the goal location (beacons)

This concept helps in understanding how animals prioritize different types of cues during navigation.

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22
Q

What do animals tend to prefer when navigating: landmarks or beacons?

A

Animals prefer beacons when they are closer to a target but rely more heavily on landmarks when they are further away

This indicates the adaptability of animals in navigation based on distance.

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23
Q

Define ecological validity in research.

A

Ecological validity refers to the extent to which findings of a research study can be generalized to real-life settings

Tasks relevant to one species may not be relevant to another species.

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24
Q

What is the win/shift task?

A

The win/shift task is a complex version of the radial maze where animals either return to previously visited arms (win stay condition) or explore new arms (win shift condition)

It reflects natural foraging behavior in the wild.

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25
What is path integration?
Path integration allows animals to return to a starting location by keeping track of combined distance and direction traveled on a single trip ## Footnote This is also known as dead reckoning.
26
What is a cognitive map?
A cognitive map is a mental representation that allows an animal to utilize information about landmarks, beacons, geometric cues, and their position relative to these cues ## Footnote This concept was argued by Tolman (1948) against behaviorist views.
27
What is the role of extramaze cues in navigation?
Extramaze cues are environmental cues outside of the maze that assist in navigation, such as posters or lights ## Footnote They help animals orient themselves in unfamiliar spaces.
28
How do animals use interactive systems for navigation?
Animals can use different cues during small-scale navigation and may switch between strategies depending on ecological context ## Footnote This flexibility allows adaptation to varying environments.
29
What differentiates homing from migration?
Homing is the ability to return to a nest after displacement, while migration involves large-scale, seasonal movement between habitats ## Footnote Both processes can be independent; some animals may migrate without homing.
30
List the mechanisms of large-scale navigation.
* Sun compass * Star compass * Magnetic cues * Olfactory cues ## Footnote Different species may rely on different combinations of these cues.
31
What is the Emlen funnel used for?
The Emlen funnel is used to study migratory restlessness by tracking the movement of birds in a controlled environment ## Footnote It provides insights into the timing of migration.
32
What is the significance of place cells and grid cells?
Place cells fire when an animal is in a specific location, while grid cells provide a spatial mapping of the environment ## Footnote Both are critical for forming cognitive maps and are located in the hippocampus.
33
Describe the London taxi driver experiment findings.
London taxi drivers have a larger posterior hippocampus compared to age-matched controls, indicating experience and spatial memory development ## Footnote This suggests neuroplasticity in adults related to navigation.
34
What is the win/shift strategy in decision making?
The win/shift strategy demonstrates an animal's tendency to seek new food sources rather than revisiting previously depleted sources ## Footnote It highlights optimal foraging behavior.
35
What is the definition of decision making?
Decision making is the process of selecting one course of action over various options ## Footnote This is a fundamental aspect of animal behavior and foraging strategies.
36
True or False: Decisions happen in the brain up to 10 seconds before we are aware of them.
True ## Footnote This finding challenges the concept of free will.
37
What is the optimal foraging theory?
Optimal foraging theory posits that decision-making evolved to maximize fitness and energy gain during food foraging ## Footnote It integrates ecological and behavioral aspects of animal navigation.
38
What is a motor action or verbal response indicating the selection of an option?
Decision-making ## Footnote Example: Foraging behavior by Northwestern crows.
39
Which philosophical traditions have questioned the freedom of thought and action?
Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and Western philosophers ## Footnote They particularly focus on unconscious acts.
40
What do brain imaging studies suggest about the existence of free will?
Decisions happen in the brain up to 10 seconds before we are aware of them ## Footnote Reference: Soon et al., 2002.
41
What is Optimal Foraging Theory?
The idea that decision-making evolved to maximize fitness and energy gain during food foraging.
42
What does the Marginal Value Theorem explain?
When to move on to a new food patch based on marginal value and time spent in the current patch.
43
What does the Ideal Free Distribution Model explain?
Animals distribute themselves among food patches based on food availability.
44
What is Collective Decision Making?
Coordinated activities like migration, not necessarily a foraging theory.
45
What is the main goal of Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT)?
To maximize net energy gain per unit of time.
46
What must the energy acquired from food consumption do in relation to energy spent?
It must offset the energy spent obtaining it.
47
Who demonstrated the concept of foraging behavior maximizing net energy gain?
MacArthur & Pianka (1966) ## Footnote Demonstrated in chipmunks, which are central place gatherers.
48
What factor increases the required payoff for foraging as travel distance increases?
Travel Time.
49
What is an example of handling time in foraging?
Shore crabs prefer intermediate-sized mussels to balance handling time and caloric intake.
50
How does predation risk affect foraging behavior?
Foraging is compromised in the presence of predators.
51
What behavioral adaptation do Leafcutter Ants exhibit to avoid predation?
They forage at night.
52
What effect did the reintroduction of wolves have on elk foraging behavior?
Elk increased vigilance by 50% and sought shelter.
53
What is the concept of the Marginal Value of a patch?
When net energy gain from the patch is lower than from surrounding areas.
54
What does the Ideal Free Distribution Model predict about animal distribution?
Animals should distribute themselves across patches based on food availability.
55
What happens if too many animals congregate at a single food patch?
The payoff decreases for everyone.
56
What is Nash Equilibrium?
A theory describing forces that govern group dynamics in decision-making.
57
What is an example of collective decision making in animals?
Coordinated migration in birds.
58
What are heuristics?
Mental shortcuts or 'rules of thumb' used to simplify decision-making.
59
What are algorithms in the context of decision-making?
Specific procedures that always lead to the correct answer.
60
What is risk sensitivity in behavioral economics?
Organisms may engage in risky behavior when the safe option does not meet their fitness needs.
61
What is the Sunk Cost Fallacy?
Continuing to invest in a losing option due to past investments.
62
What is Delay Discounting?
Preference for immediate rewards over delayed rewards, even if the delayed reward is larger.
63
What is the Somatic Marker Hypothesis?
Decisions are influenced by emotional reactions that guide choices.
64
What was the effect of damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) on decision-making?
It impaired emotional responses and decision-making abilities.
65
What does the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) demonstrate?
Individuals with neurological damage have difficulty making decisions.
66
What are individual differences in decision-making?
Variations in preferences regarding risky versus non-risky options.
67
How does impulsivity relate to decision-making?
High impulsivity can contribute to addiction behaviors.
68
What role do emotions play in decision-making?
They may facilitate effective decision-making by guiding better choices.
69
What is a critical example of decision-making found in non-human animals?
Foraging behavior.

Animal Cognition (2 decks)

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