Evolution and Ethology

1) Natural selection
2) Genetics and inheritability
3) Ethology and behavior
Lorenz – Hydraulic model
Tinbergen – Hierarchical model
4) “Instinct” in Psychology
James, McDougall, and Tolman
5) Reactions to instinct theory / critique
“Behaviorism”
6) The “misbehavior” of organisms
7) Current thinking about Nature/Nurture
 Natural Selection

• Greeks viewed species as static / unchanging “types”

• Darwin noted variation in morphology and behavior between
individuals
• Variation is often inherited
• Inherited variation affects survival and reproduction
• At the time, no mechanism for heritability of traits

• Mendel (1865) – concept of “genes” – heritability is particulate.

Eye color of child versus parents, for example.
• Mutation is an important source of variability in genetic material.
• Natural selection versus sexual selection
 Natural Selection

• Organisms interact with the environment through behavior

• Do the principles of natural selection apply to behavior?
• How does one understand behavior at the species level?
• Emphasis on species-typical behavior versus individual behavior?
 Konrad Lorenz
1903 – 1989
Characteristics of Modern Ethology
•Species-specific behaviors
•Evolutionary emphasis
•Observation / “Ethogram”
•Preference for field studies
•Focus on instinct, not learning
NIKOLAAS TINBERGEN
1907-1988

Lorenz & Tinbergen shared the

Nobel Prize for Physiology or
Medicine in 1973
 Some characteristics of classical ethology and comparative psychology

Feature Classical ethology Comparative psychology

Geographical Europe North America

location
Training Zoology Psychology

Typical subjects Birds, fish, insects Mammals, especially lab rats

Emphasis "Instinct", the study of the evolution "Learning", the development of general theories
of behavior of behavior
Methods Careful observation, field Laboratory work, control of variables, statistical
experimentation analysis

From http://salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/year3/PSY339EvolutionaryPsychologyroots/EvolutionaryPsychologyroots.htm
 Lorenz – Hydraulic Model

Action Specific Energy (ASE) – Species-specific. Build up of energy (drive) to behave in

particular ways.

Sign Stimulus (SS) – Pre-programmed environmental event that will trigger a specific
response. Also called “key stimulus”.

Innate Releasing Mechanism (IRM) – Neural mechanism (“hardware”) that is genetically

determined. Triggers behavioral response in the presence of SS.

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) – If there is enough ASE and the SS is present, the organism
will exhibit well-defined, species-specific behavior sequences. Different individuals in a
species produce nearly identical behavior to a SS. Once initiated, FAPs continue until
completion.
Lorenz – Hydraulic Model
 Lorenz – Hydraulic Model
Examples: Egg retrieval in the greylag goose.
Courtship behavior in male sticklebacks.
Action Specific Energy (ASE) – Species-
specific. Build up of energy (drive) to behave
in particular ways.
Sign Stimulus (SS) – Pre-programmed
environmental event that will trigger a specific
response. Also called “key stimulus”.
Innate Releasing Mechanism (IRM) – Neural
mechanism (“hardware”) that is genetically
determined. Triggers behavioral response in
the presence of SS.
Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) – If there is
enough ASE and the SS is present, the
organism will exhibit well-defined, species-
specific behavior sequences. Different
individuals in a species produce nearly
identical behavior to a SS. Once initiated,
FAPs continue until completion.
Tinbergen’s Questions About Behavior
• What are the proximal causes?
• What is the survival value?
• What is the evolutionary history?
• What is the ontogeny?
Example: Courtship and breeding in
Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
 Major Lower level Consummatory
Instinct Instinct Act

Chasing

Fighting Biting

Threatening

Digging
Nest building
Boring
Reproductive Gluing
Instinct
Mating Dancing

Leading

Fertilizing
Care of
offspring Etc
 “Instinct” in Psychology
• Instinct as “universal” behavior
• Instinct as “unlearned” behavior. (Species-typical behavior)
• Instinct as “urge” or “driving force”. (e.g., Freud)

William James: Instinct is a base from which cognition and habits determine
behavior.

William McDougall: All behavior is based on instinct. The goal of Psychology is

to list and classify all of the instincts for a complete account of behavior.

Edward C. Tolman: Goals are instinctive but the means of achieving them are
often learned.

Simply calling something an instinct does little to explain it. One major reaction
to instinct-based approaches was an extreme emphasis on the environment,
rather than genetics.