Chapter 2: Genetic Contributions to Motivated Behavior

1. PSY 338: Motivation Chapter 2: Genetic Contributions to Motivated Behavior

2. Early Instinct Theories • Continuum of human and animal behavior • Animals: Instinctive with some rationality • Humans: Rational with some instinctive behavior • Nominal Fallacy • Just because we label a behavior “instinct” does not mean that we have actually explained the behavior • Not well distinguished from learned behavior

3. Instinct Theory: William James • Instincts “occur blindly” at first • Automatic under certain conditions • Without knowledge of end or goal • Impulse • Changes with experience / learning • Memory interacts with instinct • Tendency to act in a particular way Partial list of James’ 37 human instincts 

4. Instinct Theory: William James • Variability of Instincts • Habit (learning) can inhibit an instinct • Restricting range of objects • Example: fear/ inquisitiveness • Transitory • Certain times or developmental periods • Example: imprinting William James William James

5. Instinct Theory: William James • Instinctive behavior - between reflexes & learning • Felt that instincts provided a base upon which experience can build through the development of habits • Remember he felt that we had predispositions to behave in a certain way; not guaranteed to do so See next slide 

6. Bonobo vs. Chimp argument Bonobos  Chimp 

7. Bonobo vs. Chimp argument Bonobos mourn death of loved one

8. chimpanzees are from Mars and bonobos are from Venus? • Nishida & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa (1987) • Chimps displayed increased cooperative behavior after prolonged interactions with bonobos

9. Criticism of William James… • He did not clearly describe how one could distinguish between a reflex, an instinct, and a learned behavior

10. Instinct Theory: William McDougall • Argued that instincts are more than just dispositions to react in a particular way • He felt that every instinct consisted of three components: • Cognitive (thought): the knowing of an object that can satisfy the instinct • Affective (emotion): the feeling that the object arouses • Conative (behavior): striving toward or away from the object • Goal: can aid in determining activated instinct - teleological

11. Instinct Theory: William McDougall • Criticisms: • Many of the theorists of that time argued that these ideas did not apply to animal behavior • Freud argued that even humans are often unaware of the reasons for their behavior William McDougall  Partial list of McDougall’s instincts are on page 38

12. Instinct Theory: William McDougall • Altering Instinct • By object in external environment or idea of object or alternate objects in the external environment or the ideas of these alternate objects (milk, food, idea) • Expressive movement/behavior changes over time (crawling/reading) • Blending instincts (adolescent behavior) • Organized around particular settings, cues, environments (behavior at work vs. home)

13. Instinct Theory: William McDougall • Anthropomorphism • McDougall felt we could infer the feelings of other organisms by asking yourself how you would feel

14. Instinct Theory: William McDougall • More Criticisms: • Anthropomorphism is considered inadequate; subjective • McDougall did not clearly distinguish between instinct and learning

15. Criticisms of Instinct Theories (Yes, there are More…) • Kuo (1921) - “Giving Up Instincts in Psychology” • No agreement on type or # of instincts • Behavior random - then learned through reinforcement • Behavior aroused by external stimuli - not internal instinct • Clearly, he was against the idea of genetic programming that was the base on the instinct theorists

16. Criticisms of Instinct Theories: (Lets call these “positive” criticisms) • Tolman (1923) - Instinct might be saved if. . . • Overcome the nominal fallacy problem (explanation vs. description) • Clearly distinguish between instinctive and not • Instinctive vs. intelligent • Instinct vs. habit (too much confusion) • He felt the focus should be on the goal rather than on the behavior

17. Classical Ethology • A specialized branch of biology, it is concerned with evolution, development, and function of behavior • Lorenz & Tinbergen (1930s) • Argued that we must observe organisms in their natural setting if we are to understand their behavior; ethogram must be complied for each species studied

18. Ethological Terms • Craig (1918) • Consummatory behavior • Well coordinated, fixed patterns of responding to specific stimuli • Appetitive behavior • Searching behavior that is flexible and adaptive to the environment

19. Ethological Terms • Innate Releasing Mechanism (IRM) • Each behavior that an organism has potential to perform is inhibited by the IRM • You need the “key to open a lock” • This will allow the behavior to occur; is a biologically important stimulus that is either environmental or the result of the behavior of another species member • Key (sign) stimuli – environment stimuli; usually simple stimuli or simple configuration relationships between stimuli • Social releasers – behavior involving another member of the species See next slide 

20. Baby Herring Gull Begging for Food

21. Key Stimuli • Sometimes the normal key stimulus is not the optimal stimulus for releasing a given behavior • Tinbergen (1951) • Ringed plover prefers different colored eggs than its own

22. Not all Key stimuli are created equal… Supernormal key stimuli • Stimuli that release behavior more effectively than the normal stimulus • Tinbergen (1948) • Oystercatcher show preference for abnormally larger eggs • Tinbergen (1951) • Ringed plover likes bigger spots of abnormal egg

23. Supernormal Key STIMULI • Rowland (1989) • Procedure • Sexually receptive sticklebacks were presented with two dummy stickleback (one normal size and the other bigger than normal • Motorized carousel; simulation of male courtship movements • Results • Preference for the larger dummy Stickleback 

24. SUPERNORMAL STIMULI (?)

25. Fixed Action Pattern • Response that a key stimulus releases; response of whole organism (not a reflex) • Four Empirical Properties (Moltz, 1965) • Stereotyped behavior • Independent of immediate external control • Behavior continues until completion regardless of changes in the external environment • Spontaneous • In vacuo or Vacuum Activity • IRM released in absence of sign stimulus • Independent of learning • Nonmodifiable through learning

26. Fixed Action Pattern • Greylag goose retrieving an egg that has rolled from its nest  Above: A cardinal feeds minnows, which rose to the surface looking for food. During several weeks the bird fed them, probably because her nest had been destroyed.

27. Fixed Action Pattern (Human)

28. Intention Movements & Social Releasers • Intention Movements • Low intensity, incomplete responses indicating that energy is beginning to accumulate in an instinctive behavior system • May also be social releasers • Dog showing teeth is an example 

29. Do humans make intention movements that serve as social signals? • Lockard, Allen, Schielle, & Wiemer (1978) • Procedure • People engaged in conversation (beginning through end) • Results • Beginning: Participants stood with weight distributed equally on both legs • End: Participants stood with most of weight on one leg • Interpretation • The shift in weight was an intention movement for departure

30. Motivational Conflict • Two or more key stimuli are present at the same time • Four types: • Successive ambivalent behavior • Alternate incomplete responses • Simultaneous ambivalent behavior • Both motivational states are expressed at the same time • Redirected behavior • Appropriate response but at the wrong target • Ethological displacement • Two equally strong motives are in conflict and inhibit each other; however the energy of two motives accumulates and is eventually redirected

31. Reaction Chains • Complex behaviors involving a sequence of responses in which each response is released by its appropriate key stimulus • Alternating key stimuli and FAPs in a particular sequence until the behavior comes to an end

32. Imprinting • A socialization process in which a young organism forms an attachment to its parents • There seems to be a sensitive period within which imprinting occurs more readily than before or after • White crown sparrow’s song: 10-50 days • Gosling’s Imprinting (following behavior): 4-17 days Apparatus for studying imprinting 

33. Imprinting Apparatus Test: Will gosling follow duck that moved during training? Test: Will gosling overcome obstacles to follow duck?

34. Gosling imprinted on cube

35. Criticisms of Classical Ethological Approach • Distinction between learned and instinctive behavior is not clear • Energy buildup is not causing displacement and vacuum activity; rather there is a hierarchy of responses with some responses more probable than others

36. Some modifications of Ethology • Biological Preparedness • The idea that people and animals are inherently inclined to form associations between certain stimuli and responses • Prepared behaviors • These associations form easily because we are predisposed to form such connections • Contraprepared behaviors • These associations are much more difficult to form because we are not naturally predisposed to form them

37. Prepared or Contraprepared? To have a fear of: • Clowns • Darkness • Planes • Heights • Guns • Open spaces • Bacteria • Strangers

38. Human Ethology • Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1972) • Cross-cultural research • Research on challenged children • Blind • Deaf • Severely developmentally disabled

39. Facial Expressions • Universality found in the following expressions: • Smiling • Laughing • Weeping • Frowning • Eyebrow Flick Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1972)

40. The Eyebrow Flick Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1972) • Very brief lifting of the eyebrow upon greeting an acquaintance • Found in his films • 1/6 sec • Part of “greeting ceremony” • Eye contact • Smiling • Raising eyebrows • Conclusion: It appears to be a fixed action pattern; possibly an appeasement gesture

41. Shyness • Kagan, Reznick, & Snidman (1988) • Genetic basis • Children who inherit a low threshold of arousability are more likely to become inhibited in social situations • Environmental basis • Chronic environmental stress of being later born

42. Additional Innate behaviors • Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1972) • Physical characteristics of infants release cuddling behaviors in adults • Human Infant Characteristics • Large head relative to body • Large eyes • Roundedness (chubby cheeks) • Neoteny • Retention of juvenile traits into adulthood seems to be adaptive (survival value) • Keating et al. (2003) • Adults with “baby faces” receive more help

43. Additional Innate behaviors • Flirting behavior • Moore (1985) • Hair-flipping in human females

44. Staring • Probably is an innate threat gesture • Ellsworth, Carlsmith, & Henson (1972) • Guy on a motor scooter stares at other drivers stopped at a red light • Drivers crossed the intersection significantly faster

45. Speech • Possible genetic character of speech seems to be supported by several studies • Marler (1970) • Pointed out several parallels between song development in birds and the development of speech in humans • Both birds and children display a sensitive period during which the ability to learn is at its maximum • Both bird and human vocalizations are controlled by one dominant side of the brain • Both of these findings suggest a genetic component to birdsong and speech

46. Recent Approaches • Behavioral Ecology • How do behavior and the environment interact? • Cognitive Ethology • Information processing in animals • Evolutionary Psychology • Human genetically controlled behavior

47. Behavioral Ecology • Studies the relationships between behaviors and the environment • E.g. Predator-prey interactions • Competition among species members for limited resources • Social interactions in groups • Aggressive behavior • Sexual behavior • Parental Care

48. Group Membership – Why do many animals live in groups? • Causes competition for resources; however, group membership provides an overall advantage to the individual • Increased protection from predators • Dilution effect • Increased overall vigilance by the group • Alarm signals • Finding new food sources • Following behavior

49. Cognitive Ethology/Animal Cognition • Studies how animals interpret information • Two main approaches: • Shettleworth (2001) • Conscious awareness not assumed • Griffin (2001) • Animals have some limited consciousness

50. Consciousness • Perceptual consciousness • Marking Test (Povinelli et al., 1997) • Reflective consciousness • Self-awareness?