CBH 3003

As anatomy only became scientific by becoming comparative anatomy...as physiology, too, only became really scientific by becoming comparative physiology...even so psychology can never assume the rank of a science until it becomes comparative psychology; i.e., until it adopts the comparative method, until it studies the different grades and kinds of mentality in their relation to each other, and connects them all by the law of evolution.

– Joseph LeConte,Popular Science Monthly,1875

General Statement.

Although comparative psychology is not one of the large areas in psychology, it is one of the oldest. I think it can provide a unique perspective on behavior viewed broadly and, with some extensions, on human behavior. I will try to make this course as pleasant and meaningful for you as I can.

My primary goals in the course are (a.) to familiarize you with the basic methods, theories, and findings in the field of comparative psychology, (b.) to help you appreciate nonhuman animals and the importance of their study and humane treatment, (c.) to encourage you to think about the adaptive functions of behavioral patterns, and (d.) to encourage you to think about humans and human behavior in the context of that of other species.

Textbook.

In my judgment, there are many good textbooks, but no really excellent textbooks, for this course. This semester, I am using that of Lee Drickamer and his associates. I have used earlier editions of this book in the past and the present edition provides a well-written, up-to-date, if not flashy, overview of the field of animal behavior studies. The main problem with it is that it was written by animal behaviorists who are zoologists rather than psychologists. Thus, some topics are emphasized that are of lesser importance to psychologists and some topics of importance to psychologists are given rather minimal treatment.

I do not plan to cover Chapters 3, 7, 8, 9, 13, or 14 unless we can free up some time near the end of the semester. Some of these topics are of greater interest to zoologists; others are relevant to psychologists but are covered in courses in behavioral neuroscience.

The major problem is that the readings are concentrated in material for the first two exams, with much less for the final third of the course. For that reason I have added some supplemental readings as listed in the next section.

I will try to strike a balance between covering material that is in the book and that which is not. I see little point in standing up to go over exactly what you can read. However, I will try to keep the lectures related to the readings.

Additional Readings

In some years in the past I have assigned some additional readings to supplement the textbook in areas in which it is weak. Students would purchase packets of readings at a local copy center. This year we will continue the supplemental readings but select only articles that are available on-line through the University of Florida library. These may challenge you more than the textbook because they are written at a more advanced level. However, I think the are interesting and I would like to try them out. I will try to construct exam questions based on these materials that will be less detailed than those from class and the textbook as I understand that these may be more difficult for you. I would appreciate feedback regarding these articles.

There are several ways in which you might access these articles.

First, you could go to the library and read hard copy. This will not work if you all try to do it at once. The other two require on-line access to the university library. If you have a Gator Link account and Acrobat reader, which can be downloaded free of cost, on your computer, you should be able to get the readings on-line. I can do this at home through GatorLink, as can many students. However, some students find that they need to use a computer in the library.

1. From a university-linked site with an Acrobat reader, dial up to the UF library at http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/.

2. From the UF Library Home Page, click on “Find Journals” and enter the name of the journal you want to access

3. Select a link (shown in blue). Click on the record. If there is more than one, you may have to try several

4. Follow instructions until you get to the article desired. Generally, you want to browse” the journal or tables of contents, “check available issues,” “archive” or the like.

5. Find the correct issue and article.

Some of you may reach the journal title in the library web site and find access to it denied You may need to use the "Remote Access" option.

From the Library's home page (http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/) click on "[Remote Access]." This will bring you to the Connecting

Off-Campus Page. Choose the second option, primary proxy, by

clicking on "Logon Now." At the Logon Page, enter:

1) your 14 digit

library number or 2) your GatorLink username and password, then

click "Login." The former option requires an activated library

card; however, the latter does not. At this point, you should be

connected through the proxy server. It is important that you only

use links on the web pages. Do not use your browser by entering

addresses, clicking on favorite places, or using your back button.

This will disconnect you from the system. You may return to the

library home page by clicking on "UF Libraries' Home Page."

Students may be interested in other connection options listed on

the Connecting Off-Campus Page. For instance, there is a secondary

proxy that allows one to turn the connection on and off, as well

as allowing use of the browser. However, this option requires a

more complicated set-up and has some limitations.

The articles are:

January 11: Zeifman, D. M. (2001). An ethological analysis of human infant crying: Answering Tinbergen’s four questions. Developmental Psychobiology, 39(4), 265-285.

March 31: Shettleworth, S. (2001). Animal cognition and animal behaviour. Animal Behaviour, 61(2), 277-286.

April 5: Premack, D. (1971). Language in chimpanzee? Science, 172, 808-822. (Use the JSTOR option)

April 7: Povinelli, D. J., & Preuss, T. M. (1995). Theory of mind: Evolutionary history of a cognitive specialization. Trends in Neurosciences, 18(9), 418-424.

April 14: Dunbar, R. I. M. (1998). The social brain hypothesis. Evolutionary Anthropology, 6(5), 178-190.

April 19: Griffin, D. R. (1995). Windows on animal minds. Consciousness and Cognition, 4(2), 194-204.

Study Guide to Lecture Contents

To help refresh your memory concerning recently discussed topics, I will provide a lecture outline for you on the internet on my home page at http://grove.ufl.edu/~dewsbury/.

http://grove.ufl.edu/~dewsbury/.

The outline is an aid to guide you to some of the important topics covered in class and should help you to study. It is not all-inclusive, however, and there may be questions on exams from lecture and many from the readings not appearing clearly in the outline. There are many concepts, for example, that do not lend themselves to brief summaries.

Films.

Nothing I can say in lecture can convey the nature of animal behavior as graphically as can film or videotape. Therefore, I have scheduled several presentations as available and appropriate throughout the semester. I schedule these during the Tuesday 2-hour periods where possible. Here is a tentative schedule:

Jan. 06: Patterns of Behavior: The 4 Questions

Jan. 18: Signals for Survival

Feb. 01: Imprinting

Feb. 15: Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas

Feb. 22: Jane Goodall and the Chimpanzees

Apr. 05: Chimpanzee Language

Apr. 12: Alex the Grey Parrot

Exams.

As can be seen on page 1, I have scheduled three exams. Each will cover about one-third of the course and be non-cumulative.

The exams will be in a multiple-choice format. Exams will cover material from both lectures and the reading assignments. The balance will vary a bit as we move through different sections of the course. However, it is likely that the lectures will generally be weighted more heavily than the textbook. This will be especially the case for the last third of the course.

I welcome submissions of questions for possible use on the exam. They should be multiple-choice questions with four alternative answers, avoiding such constructions as “all of the above” or “none of the above.” Doing this helps me to see what you think are some fair questions to ask. It can help you to prepare for the exam and can ensure you of a few easy points if your question is used. I use as many questions as I can, provided they seem fair to me, clear, and are not duplicated. I often make minor modifications in the questions submitted. I think that recent exams have been improved by student submissions. I will need the questions at least a week before the exam, as I generally try to construct exams on the weekend before the exam.

In extreme cases and where there is good cause and it is cleared with me in advance, make-up exams will be permissible when absence during an exam is unavoidable. These will be constructed entirely of identification and short essay questions and should be taken as soon as possible after the date of the regularly scheduled class exam.

Please note that the final exam is scheduled for next to the last day of exam week. There will be no early exams. Please do not make plane reservations for that week as you will need to be here to complete the course on Thursday. I don’t like it either!

Grades.

Grades will assigned on the basis of the three exams, each of which will be weighted equally (33% each). Because I try to treat each student equally, I find it difficult to weigh extra work with that originally assigned for the course. Therefore, I do not accept additional projects as “extra credit.” The grade will reflect performance on the three exams. Plan ahead; low grades (and high ones) are permanent.

I plan to post exam grades on my web page by a code number submitted by you on the first exam. You have a right to decline this posting. Simply inform me that you do not want your grade to be posted in writing prior to the exam.

I use a sliding scale in assigning final grades and I will be prepared to keep you informed of your status as the semester progresses. The proportion of A's, B's, etc. will vary from year to year depending on the performance in the course. I typically give about 25% A's, 35% B's and B+'s, 30% C's and C+'s, and 10% D's, D+'s, and E's. I am prepared to give more A's or fewer A’s, however, should performance appear to merit it. Although I use a sliding scale, it has some constraints. I have difficulty giving a grade of C for an average below 60, although an average of 60 does not guarantee you a C. The lowest mean averages that earned final grades at various levels for seven recent years: A 86.2; B+ 83.4; B 78.0; C+ 74.3; C 60.8; D 52.5; E 44.2. Needless to say, I make no guarantee that these exact averages will produce these final grades in any single year. Although they will vary, they provide some general guidelines as to where you stand.

Here are some distributions (in percentages) from recent years:

Year A B & B+ C & C+ D E

1996(S) 21 38 35 4 2

1996(F) 24 34 37 3 0

1997(S) 22 38 36 3 0

1998(S) 24 43 30 3 0

1998(F) 25 27 46 2 0

1999(S) 24 37 31 3 1

1999(F) 25 36 29 3 1

2000(S) 25 37 32 2 1

2000(F) 30 34 34 2 0

2001(S) 25 35 28 6 5

2002(S) 19 37 32 8 3

2003(S) 22 28 42 5 2

2003(F) 29 29 40 7 0

2004(S) 22 40 30 6 0

Contacts.

Dr. Dewsbury's office is 357 Psychology. His telephone number is 392-0601 x279. He is on campus much of the time but will try to keep Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30-2:30 as formal office hours. Any changes will be announced in class. He can also be reached by e-mail: dewsbury@ufl.edu.

There will be a teaching assistant for the course with an office on the 3^rd floor of the Psychology Building: Anaya Mitra (amitra@ufl.edu). She will provide her office hours as soon as possible. She will schedule a question-and-answer review session before each exam. You should come prepared with questions for the session. She will not know the content of the exam at that time.

Attendance.

I strongly recommend that you attend class. I do not plan to take attendance on a daily basis. However, should lack of attendance become a problem, I reserve the right to either start taking attendance or to give unannounced quizzes and to include results as part of the course grades. I will cover material not in the book and provide depth on material that is in the book. I think that you will have some difficulties with the exams if you choose regularly to skip class. I hope that you will choose to attend class regularly. You should note that class attendance will be even more important during some parts of the course than others.

Students Needing Special Accommodations

According to university policy, “students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation."

University Honesty Policy

The University has an explicit policy on academic honesty. In essence, (a.) answers provided on exams should be solely those of the individual student with no outside help, and (b.) where a paper is required students should avoid plagiarism by ensuring that any material taken from various sources is attributed to that source and placed in quotation marks in the material is quoted verbatim. Please recall the pledge that you are required to sign a registration each semester:

“I understand that the University of Florida expects its students to be honest in all of their academic work. I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and understand that my failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the University.”

Counseling and Mental Health Services

Should you require professional help during the semester, the University Counseling Center can be found in Room P301 Peabody Hall (392-1575) and the Student Mental Health Services is located in room 245 Infirmary (392-1171, www.hsc.ufl.edu/shcc).

Some Web Sites That May Be of Interest

An index of web sites:http://users.erols.com/mandtj/behavior/behavior.html

The Animal Behavior Society:

http://www.animalbehavior.org/

American Psychological Association Division 6 (Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology:

http://www.apa.org/divisions/div6/

Web Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/

Robert Cook’s site for cognition and related topics:

http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/psych26/history.htm

On-line full text of classic papers in the history of psychology:

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/

Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Atlanta:

http://www.emory.edu/WHSC/YERKES/about1.html

Evolution, Phylogeny, and the Tree of Life:

http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html

Fossil evidence for Evolution:

http://www-museum.unl.edu/research/vertpaleo/ashfall.html

Evolution and behavior, Industrial Melanism:

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/E/Evolution.html#Industrial_Melanism

Comparative brain structures

http://brainmuseum.org/

Gregor Mendel and Genetics:

http://www.mendelweb.org/Mendel.html

Heritability:

http://psych.colorado.edu/hgss/hgssapplets/heritability/heritability.intro.html

Twin studies of Genetic Effects:

http://ibgwww.colorado.edu/lts/links.htm

Jane Goodall’s Gombe Chimpanzees:

http://www.discoverchimpanzees.org/

Courtesy in Class.

I want this course to be pleasant for both you and me. This will work best if we share mutual respect. I will try to show that. Please try to arrive on time-- especially for the 8:30 classes. For your part, as you are not required to attend class, I ask that if you attend you pay attention to what is going on. Please do not talk during class, except as part of the normal interchange that is part of the class. Should you feel an absolute need to study for another course or to read the Alligator, please do it elsewhere and skip class. Please turn of cell phones and other electronic devices.

Finally, I have a watch and rarely go over the scheduled end of the class by more than a minute or two. I do not need to be reminded of the approaching end of the period with closing books, scuffling feet, etc.

A Final Word.

I realize that many of you are more interested in clinical psychology and related fields than in basic, academic, scientific psychology of the sort discussed here. However, I believe that the perspective gotten from a course such as this can be helpful in all areas of the behavioral sciences. I will try to make the course as enjoyable as I can.

I believe that a course in comparative psychology can be both stimulating and fun. We may not be able to accomplish this. If we do not succeed in accomplishing the goal, I hope that we can at least create an interesting and meaningful educational experience.

Schedule.

The tentative class schedule is given on the next page. Please regard the schedule as tentative. I want to be able to move away from the schedule as the situation dictates, so the schedule is to be taken as only tentative.

CBH3003 Spring, 2005					READING
NO.		DATE			DRICKAMER/
					Other Readings
1		Jan. 04	Foundations	Organizational class
2		Jan. 04		The Study of Behavior
3	_	Jan. 06		FILM: The 4 Questions	1
4		Jan. 11		Philosophical and Ethical Issues	Zeifman
5		Jan. 11		History of animal behavior study	2
6	_	Jan. 13		History of animal behavior study
7		Jan. 18		FILM: Signals for Survival
8		Jan. 18		Evolution and Fitness	4
9	_	Jan. 20		Evolution and Fitness	6
10		Jan. 25	Origins of	Behavior Genetics	5
11		Jan. 25	Behavior	Behavior Genetics
12	_	Jan. 27		Genetics/Development	10
13		Feb. 01		Development of Behavior
14		Feb. 01		Film: Imprinting
15	_	Feb. 03		EXAM
16		Feb. 08		Nature and Nurture
17		Feb. 08	Behavioral	Feeding	15
18	_	Feb. 10	Ecology	Prey-Predator Relations
19		Feb. 15		FILM: Eternal Enemies
20		Feb. 15		Reproductive Behavior	17
21	_	Feb. 17		Reproductive Behavior	pp. 117-120
22		Feb. 22		FILM: Goodall and Chimpanzees
23		Feb. 22		Parental behavior	18
24	_	Feb. 24		Social Behavior	16
25		Mar. 08		Social Behavior
26		Mar. 08		Social and Mating Systems	19
27	_	Mar.10		Social and Mating Systems
28		Mar. 15		Kinship and Cooperation
29		Mar. 15		Communication
30	_	Mar. 17		EXAM
31		Mar. 22		Communication