PSYC 271 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Courtship Display, Wilder Penfield, Mendelian Inheritance
12 Mar 2014
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Chapter 2: evolution, genetics, and experience: zeitgeist: the general intellectual climate of our culture, which affects the way we think, including about the biological bases of behaviour which may be inconsistent with facts. 2. 1 thinking about the biology of behaviour: from dichotomies to interactions. Behaviour in traditional dichotomies: difficulty with physiological/psychology. Gallup"s research on self-awareness in chimpanzees: when confronted with a mirror image of itself, can become the object of its own attention (groom and inspect parts of their body, making faces and unusual postures). Test with being painted red on its forehead and ear, showed mark-directed responses to touch and inspect. Interaction between three factors: 1) genetic endowment, product of evolution; 2) experience; 3) perception of current situation. Over generations, this leads to species better adapted to their niche. Fitness is the ability of an organism to survive and contribute its genes to the next generation.
