Ethological Explanations

• What is ethology?

  The study of animal behaviours
• Who was a famous ethologist?

  Konrad Lorenz
• What did Konrad Lorenz believe about aggression?

  It is an innate adaptive response
• What are innate releasing mechanisms (IRMs)?

  Hard-wired neural networks responding to stimuli
• What do innate releasing mechanisms initiate?

  A fixed action pattern (FAP)
• How do ethologists view the buildup of aggression in animals?

  It builds up until a safe release opportunity
• What is a sign stimulus?

  A trigger for releasing aggression
• What are fixed action patterns?

  Set sequences of innate behaviours
• What are the features of fixed action patterns?

  • Universal: All members of the species
  • Stereotyped: Happens in the same way
  • Response to a sign stimulus: e.g., a rival male
  • Ballistic: Once started, can’t stop
  • Unaffected by learning: Innate
  • Situation specific: e.g., in mating season
• What model describes instinctive behaviour?

  The hydraulic model of instinctive behaviour
• What did Tinnbergen’s stickleback fish study demonstrate?

  Red underbelly triggers aggression release
• What was the outcome of Cooper’s viper study?

  Vipers left a chemical trail after biting
• What is a limitation of the research on animal aggression?

  Lacks generalizability to human behaviour
• How does human aggression differ from animal aggression?

  Human aggression is less stereotyped and predictable