Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology: Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen
 CLASSICAL ETHOLOGICAL THEORY: Ethology studies
the behavior of animals and humans from an
evolutionary perspective
 BEHAVIOR AS AN ADAPTATION (HAS SURVIVAL
VALUE)
 ADAPTATION = A BEHAVIOR OR
MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURE DESIGNED BY
NATURAL SELECTION IN ORDER TO PERFORM A
PARTICULAR FUNCTION
 EXAMPLE: ATTACHMENT IS A BEHAVIORAL
SYSTEM DESIGNED BY NATURAL SELECTION TO
KEEP THE BABY CLOSE TO ITS MOTHER
 Animals have thousands of adaptations.
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 MUCH OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR IS INSTINCTIVE
 INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOR = :
1.) BEHAVIOR OCCURS IN ALL MEMBERS OF
SPECIES (= SPECIES-TYPICAL BEHAVIOR)
2.) NO LEARNING REQUIRED; OFTEN BEHAVIOR
CAN DEVELOP WITHOUT ANIMAL EVER
EXPERIENCING OTHER MEMBERS OF THE
SPECIES
3.) STEREOTYPED BEHAVIOR
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 Example: Spider webs. All spiders of a certain species are able
to spin their particular type
of web.
 They don't learn this by classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, or social
learning.
 Young spiders may never see other members of the same
species, but they are
able to spin a web as soon as necessary when they reach
the appropriate developmental stage.
 Their webs all look basically alike; they are stereotyped.
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 Ethology emphasize how animal’s behavior is
adapted to the context (evolutionary
contextualism).

BEHAVIOR IS ELICITED IN PARTICULAR
CONTEXTS: E.G., AN ANIMAL MAY BE
AGGRESSIVE ONLY DURING MATING SEASON,
OR ONLY WITH OTHER MALES
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 FIXED OR MODAL ACTION PATTERN
(FAP): A SEQUENCE OF BEHAVIORS
ELICITED BY A SPECIFIC STIMULUS;
E.G. AGGRESSION IN FIGHTING FISH.

When the fighting fish sees the red belly of
another male during breeding season while
he is defending his territory, he will attack
in a stereotyped manner. There are a great
many such examples, ranging from mating
rituals to parenting behaviors.
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 INNATE RELEASING MECHANISM (IRM):
AN IRM IS A MECHANISM THAT TRIGGERS AN INNATE
SEQUENCE OR PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR AS A RESULT OF
PERCEIVING A STIMULUS;



E.G., RED BELLY OF ANOTHER MALE TRIGGERS
AGGRESSION IN FIGHTING
FISH. \
IF IRM PRESENT, THEN FAP WILL BE EMITTED.
THE IRM IS A PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISM IN THE
FISH. IT RESPONDS TO A CERTAIN STIMULUS, SUCH AS
THE RED BELLY OF ANOTHER MALE, AND TRIGGERS A
PARTICULAR BEHAVIORAL SEQUENCE, IN THIS CASE,
AGGRESSION.
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 LIKE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY,
ETHOLOGY EMPHASIZES UNIVERSALS OF
DEVELOPMENT (NORMATIVE DEVELOPMENT:

ALL CHILDREN DEVELOP THE BASIC EMOTIONS
IN THE SAME SEQUENCE IN ALL CULTURES: JOY,
SADNESS, DISTRESS, ANGER, FEAR, ETC.
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 METHODOLOGY: NATURALISTIC
OBSERVATION; STRONGLY OPPOSED TO
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS UNTIL
BASIC NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
COMPLETED.

This was a major departure from both
Cognitive Social Learning Theory (lab based
experiments) and Cognitive Developmental
Theory (interviews)
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology
 IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF ETHOLOGY:
 1.) NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
 2.) THINK OF CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR AS
INCLUDING A SET OF BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS
FOR SURVIVAL OVER EVOLUTIONARY TIME
 3.) STUDY BEHAVIORS THAT ALSO OCCUR IN
ANIMALS (DOMINANCE, AGGRESSION,
ATTACHMENT, early parent-offspring relationships)
 4.) FOCUS ON NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR:
EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIONS, THREAT GESTURES,
POSTURE, ETC.
 5.) CRITICAL PERIOD OR SENSITIVE PERIOD.
Theoretical Perspectives on Development:
Ethology: Sensitive or Critical Periods
 DEFINITION: A PERIOD IN DEVELOPMENT WHEN
ORGANISM IS MOST OPEN TO ENVIRONMENTAL
INFLUENCES (I. E., HAS GREATEST PLASTICITY)
HIGH
PLASTICITY
LOW
______________________________
AGE
 EXAMPLES OF CRITICAL OR SENSITIVE PERIODS:
IMPRINTING IN DUCKS;
ATTACHMENT IN HUMANS;
EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT ON IQ(?)
PRENATAL EFFECTS OF TERATOGENS (E.G., ALCOHOL)
ON BABIES
Sensitive Periods for Teratogens
Ethology: Sensitive or Critical Periods:
Orphaned Baby Hippo adopts Turtle as
Mom
Ethology: Sensitive or Critical Periods:
Orphaned Baby Hippo adopts Turtle as
Mom
Ethology: Sensitive or Critical Periods:
Orphaned Baby Hippo adopts Turtle as
Mom
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
 1.) DEVELOPMENT THE RESULT OF QUALITATIVE
CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF CHILDREN'S
THINKING.
 2.) COGNITIVE STRUCTURE = AN INTERRELATED
SYSTEM OF KNOWLEDGE THAT GUIDES BEHAVIOR
 EXAMPLE: SCHEME = A COGNITIVE STRUCTURE OF
INFANCY;


A SCHEME CONSISTS OF SKILLED, FLEXIBLE ACTION
PATTERNS THROUGH WHICH CHILD UNDERSTANDS
THE WORLD;
BALL SCHEME INCLUDES WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH A
BALL, ETC.;

SCHEME OF BALL CHANGES OVER DEVELOPMENT IN
A QUALITATIVE MANNER
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
 3.) FUNCTIONS: INNATE BIOLOGICAL
PROCESSES UNDERLYING COGNITION



a.) ORGANIZATION: THE INNATE NEED TO MAKE
SENSE OF WORLD AND INTEGRATE NEW
INFORMATION WITH OLD
b.) ASSIMILATION: INTERPRETING NEW
EXPERIENCES IN TERMS OF EXISTING
COGNITIVE STRUCTURES
c.) ACCOMMODATION: CHANGING EXISTING
COGNITIVE STRUCTURES TO FIT WITH NEW
EXPERIENCES
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
Adapt to new
information
Assimilation
Reinterpret new
experiences so they
fit into old ideas –
existing ideas don’t
change, stay same
Accommodation
Revamp old ideas so
they can adapt to new –
change current ways of
thinking/ideas so as to
add new knowledge
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
4.) CONSTRUCTIVISM: CHILDREN CREATE THEIR OWN WORLDS;
INTERPRET WORLD AS FUNCTION OF THEIR STAGE.
A stage is like having a pair of colored glasses:
It makes you see the world differently;
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
5.) METHOD: CLINICAL METHOD: A SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
AIMED AT GETTING AT HOW THE CHILD IS THINKING
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental)
Theory
 6.) EGOCENTRISM: CHILDREN TEND TO HAVE DIFFICULTY
SEEING THINGS FROM OTHERS' POINTS OF VIEW.


E.g., 4-year-old can’t understand other child’s point of
view about a toy they both want, or thinks that a visual
display will look the same from a different viewpoint.
WITH AGE, CHILDREN GRADUALLY DECENTER,
but even we adults are somewhat egocentric.
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
 7.) YOUNG CHILDREN ARE LESS FLEXIBLE IN THEIR
THINKING;


e.g., moral rules are absolute: “Stealing is bad,”
Sex roles are absolute: “Girls wear dresses”; there are
no exceptions.
Piaget’s Periods of Cognitive Development
Birth to
years
2
Sensori-motor
Uses senses and
motor skills, items
known by use
Object
permanence
learned
2-6 yrs
Preoperational
Symbolic thinking,
language used;
egocentric thinking
Imagination/
experience grow,
child de-centers
7-11 yrs
Concrete
operational
Logic applied, has
objective/rational
interpretations
Conservation,
numbers, ideas,
classifications
12 yrs to
adulthood
Formal
operational
Thinks abstractly,
hypothetical ideas
(broader issues)
Ethics, politics,
social/moral
issues explored
Focus on organization and adaptation
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
 8.) CRITERIA FOR A STAGE ACCORDING
TO PIAGET:




a.) QUALITATIVE CHANGE;
b.) UNIVERSAL
c. INVARIANT SEQUENCE
d.) STRUCTURED WHOLE:
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
 Structured Whole: CHILDREN IN A PARTICULAR STAGE
THINK THE SAME WAY ABOUT MORALITY AND THEIR
FRIENDS AS THEY THINK ABOUT STICKS AND STONES.
 This happens because children's cognitive mechanisms
develop in sync with each other.
 At any age there is a sort of stereotypical way that children
think. You might say of a child that he "thinks like a four year
old".
 According to Piaget, children exhibit the same strengths and
weaknesses in their thinking no matter what the subject
matter;

Whether a child is thinking about what makes something
morally good or what happens when you pour water from a tall,
thin beaker into a short, fat beaker, the same age typical
mechanisms are on display.
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory
 Stages are therefore DOMAIN GENERAL as opposed to
DOMAIN SPECIFIC.
 Domain specific mechanisms take in only a very narrow
and specific range of information and each mechanism is
designed to solve a very specific problem.
 For example, one aspect of the human fear system is that it
is designed to respond to images of snakes with fear.
 This system is designed to deal with information on
snakes in a reflexive way but does not respond to other
stimuli (e.g., tasty food).
 Domain general mechanisms are not restricted to a narrow
range of information and are not designed to solve any
particular problem.
 Stages are domain general because they are are very
general mechanisms designed to solve a wide range of
problems--in fact, all the problems the child encounters,
from morality, to religion, to figuring out the properties of
sets of objects.
Piagetian (Cognitive Developmental) Theory

Stages are therefore DOMAIN GENERAL as opposed to DOMAIN SPECIFIC.


Domain specific mechanisms take in only a very narrow and specific range of
information and each mechanism is designed to solve a very specific
problem.
For example, one aspect of the human fear system is that it is designed to
respond to images of snakes with fear.


This system is designed to deal with information on snakes in a reflexive way but
does not respond to other stimuli (e.g., tasty food).
Domain general mechanisms are not restricted to a narrow range of information
and are not designed to solve any particular problem.

Stages are domain general because they are are very general mechanisms
designed to solve a wide range of problems--in fact, all the problems the child
encounters, from morality, to religion, to figuring out the properties of sets of
objects.
The next section of the course will deal with evolutionary psychology which
emphasizes domain specific mechanisms and even denies the existence of
domain general mechanisms. And after that, I will present a perspective that
shows that the domain specific perspective can be combined with the
domain general perspective.
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
LEDA COSMIDES AND JOHN TOOBY
INTERESTED IN 'NATURAL COMPETENCIES'; i.e., ABILITIES
TO SEE, SPEAK, FIND SOMEONE BEAUTIFUL, FEAR
DISEASE, FALL IN LOVE, RECIPROCATE A FAVOR,
EXPERIENCE MORAL OUTRAGE.
 These are universals—aspects of normative
development. All people have these abilities.

Not interested in individual differences—why one child is
nicer or more aggressive than another
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
LEDA COSMIDES AND JOHN TOOBY
 BEING ABLE TO SEE, SPEAK, FIND SOMEONE BEAUTIFUL, FEAR
DISEASE, FALL IN LOVE, RECIPROCATE A FAVOR, EXPERIENCE
MORAL OUTRAGE ARE SUPPORTED BY A SET OF MENTAL
ADAPTATIONS THAT EVOLVED TO SOLVE PARTICULAR
ADAPTIVE PROBLEMS IN THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT OF
EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTEDNESS (EEA).


EEA = ENVIRONMENT OF EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTEDNESS =
ENVIRONMENT WHICH HUMANS EVOLVED IN AND WHICH
PRESENTED THE SET OF PROBLEMS THAT WERE SOLVED BY
THE SET OF HUMAN ADAPTATIONS.
EXAMPLE: ATTACHMENT IS AN ADAPTATION THAT SOLVED
THE PROBLEM PRESENTED BY AN ANCESTRAL ENVIRONMENT
WITH PREDATORS AND OTHER DANGERS TO INFANTS. THIS
ANCESTRAL ENVIRONMENT IS THE HUMAN EEA.
Levels of an Evolutionary Analysis
ADAPTIVE PROBLEM: Males must discriminate
appropriate mate
↕
COGNITIVE PROGRAM: Find young healthy women
attractive
↕
NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS: Brain mechanism
responsible for positive
appraisal of healthy, young
female
EP: Different Tools for different tasks;
SSSM: One tool for all tasks
The Swiss Army Knife Analogy
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY
 (1) THE BRAIN IS A PHYSICAL SYSTEM. IT FUNCTIONS AS
A COMPUTER DESIGNED TO GENERATE BEHAVIOR
APPROPRIATE TO YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL
CIRCUMSTANCES.


Like Innate Releasing Mechanism in ethology
The psychological mechanism is responsive to
particular environmental contingencies.
 If E1 occurs, do x; if E2 occurs, do y.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY

(2) OUR NEURAL CIRCUITS WERE DESIGNED BY NS TO SOLVE
PROBLEMS THAT OUR ANCESTORS FACED DURING HUMAN
EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.


MORAL: ENVIRONMENTS DO NOT SPECIFY APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR;
BRAIN VIA NS DOES.


EXAMPLE: HUMANS AND DUNG FLIES RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO
FECES.
BRAIN IS NATURALLY CONSTRUCTED COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEM
WHOSE FUNCTION IS TO SOLVE ADAPTIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING
PROBLEMS.
ADAPTIVE PROBLEMS ARE

(a) RECURRENT IN OUR EVOLUTIONARY PAST;


Natural selection can only work on problems that occur repeatedly over
very long periods of time.
(b) THEIR SOLUTION INCREASED FITNESS IN THE EEA.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY
 (3) WE ACCOMPLISH DIFFICULT TASKS EASILY
AND UNCONSCIOUSLY. THE CIRCUITRY IS
COMPLEX, BUT WE ARE NOT CONSCIOUS OF IT.


CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKE BEING PRESIDENT:
YOU ARE AWARE OF HIGH LEVEL CONCLUSIONS
PASSED ON BY THOUSANDS OF LOWER LEVEL
MECHANISMS.
EXAMPLE: VISION: CELLS SPECIALIZED TO
DETECT MOTION, VERTICAL SURFACES,
HORIZONTAL SURFACES; CIRCUITS
SPECIALIZED FOR JUDGING DISTANCE,
DIRECTION OF MOTION.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY
 (4) DIFFERENT NEURAL CIRCUITS ARE SPECIALIZED
FOR SOLVING DIFFERENT ADAPTIVE PROBLEMS.
 VISION, HEARING, LOVE, MORAL OUTRAGE HAVE
SEPARATE CIRCUITS. THE BRAIN IS A SET OF MINICOMPUTERS (MODULES) DESIGNED TO SOLVE
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS. THESE MODULES ARE
FUNCTIONALLY INTEGRATED TO PRODUCE
BEHAVIOR.
 Module is a specialized psychological mechanism designed to
solve a particular problem. It takes in specific information and
it has a particular output.
 EXAMPLE: INFANTS AT 2-1/2 MONTHS HAVE
'PRIVILEGED HYPOTHESES': i.e., THEY ASSUME
WORLD IS MADE UP OF RIGID OBJECTS CONTINUOUS
IN SPACE AND TIME; THEY ARE SURPRISED IF ONE
OBJECT APPEARS TO GO THROUGH ANOTHER, ETC.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY
 4 (cont.) THE BRAIN CONSISTS OF CIRCUITS FOR
LEARNING AND REASONING. THESE CIRCUITS
 (a) ARE DOMAIN SPECIFIC: EACH MECHANISM IS
SPECIALIZED FOR A PARTICULAR DOMAIN (Vision,
Love, Sexual attraction, Emotion recognition, etc.)
 (b) SOLVE SPECIFIC ADAPTIVE PROBLEMS;
 (c) DEVELOP IN ALL NORMAL HUMANS
(UNIVERSALS);
 (d) DEVELOP WITHOUT CONSCIOUS EFFORT OR
FORMAL INSTRUCTION;
 (e) APPLIED WITHOUT CONSCIOUS AWARENESS OF
UNDERLYING LOGIC;
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY
 (5) OUR MODERN SKULLS HOUSE A STONE-AGE MIND.


WE LIVED AS HUNTER-GATHERERS FOR 99.9% OF
OUR 10 MILLION YEAR EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. OUR
ADAPTATIONS ARE DESIGNED TO SOLVE THE
PROBLEMS OF HUNTERS AND GATHERERS.
OUR ADAPTATIONS DO NOT NECESSARILY
GENERATE ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR NOW.



OUR ADAPTATIONS MAY NOT PRODUCE FIT BEHAVIOR
IN CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTS.
Mismatch Theory
EXAMPLES: PEOPLE LOVE TO EAT SWEET, SALT, AND
FAT; BUT IN MODERN ENVIRONMENT OF FOOD
SURPLUSES AND REFINED SUGAR, THIS MAY LEAD TO
HEALTH PROBLEMS.
Evolutionary Psychology: The Bottom
Line
• The mind is composed of a large number of mental
modules each designed to solve a specific problem.
•
•
•
•
For example, there is one mechanism for perceiving
three dimensions, another for anger, another for falling
in love.
The mind is like a Swiss Army knife; i.e., it has lots of
specialized tools.
There is no such thing as general intelligence, general
learning, or any other general ability to solve problems.
These mechanisms are modules: They take in specific
input (e.g., the fear mechanism responds to specific
inputs, such as a snake; and it has specific outputs—
the fear response. This is discussed further in Ch. 3
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific)
 NEO-PIAGETIAN APPROACHES COMBINE DOMAIN-SPECIFIC
MODULES (CONSISTENT WITH EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY)
WITH DOMAIN-GENERAL MECHANISMS OF TRADITIONAL
PIAGETIAN THEORY.
 AN IMPORTANT CANDIDATE FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT
DOMAIN GENERAL MECHANISMS ARE THOSE ASSOCIATED
WITH GENERAL INTELLIGENCE:



WORKING MEMORY AS PARADIGM: HAVING A GOOD WORKING
MEMORY IS LIKE A COMPUTER HAVING A HIGH-CAPACITY
PROCESSER: It is able to run all kinds of software better. A good
working memory means that you can keep lots of different things in
your mind when you solve a problem—spatial relationships, verbal
instructions, etc. You would be better at math and at law or medicine.
A high capacity computer chip runs video games, web browsers, or
word processes faster.
Because it works with different types of input, it is domain general.
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 1
• g is like a computer chip.
• Computers with a faster computer chip outperform
computers with slower chips.
• This means they run all your software faster, whether
it’s graphics, web browsing, or word processing.
• In this analogy, the graphics and word processing
programs are like modules—they have specific inputs
and outputs.
• g is the domain general, non-modular processor that
affects the speed and efficiency of the domain specific
modules underlying the middle level factors in the
diagram.
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 1
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 1
•
•
The figure represents the results of factor analysis of cognitive ability
tests.
Factor analysis is a correlational procedure that basically discovers what
traits co-vary together.
•
•
•
The evolutionary psychology idea is that a spatial reasoning module
underlies this spatial ability factor.
•
•
•
These results show several middle level factors (spatial, numerical,
social/verbal, etc.) and a higher order factor (g).
Items related to spatial reasoning tend to correlate with each other,
resulting in the middle level spatial factor.
The spatial reasoning module has all the characteristics of modules: It
takes in only a very specialized type of stimulation (related to objects in
space), and it has only very specific outputs (spatial reasoning).
This means it is domain specific (= able to deal with only one type of
stimulation.)
The same could be said for all of the other middle level factors.
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 1
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 1
•
•
g, the higher order factor, is correlated with all of the middle level
factors.
• people higher on g perform better on all of the middle level
abilities.
• This means that the mechanisms underlying g are domain
general. (Why?)
The psychological mechanisms underlying g include domain general
abilities such as working memory and speed of processing.
• These abilities are domain general and non-modular because
they are not restricted to specific types of inputs and not
restricted to specific types of outputs.
• Working memory can be used with an incredible variety of
inputs, from number lists to rotating figures in space; so it is not
domain specific.
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 1
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 2
Neo-Piagetian Approaches: Synthesis between Piaget
(domain general) and Evolutionary Psychology (domain
specific): Figure 2
•
The core capacities are domain general: speed, span, and
control.
•
•
•
These are the same as processing speed, working
memory, and the ability to inhibit irrelevant responses
from previous slide.
Specialized capacity spheres are the domain specific modules:
spatial, verbal social, numerical, etc.
Stage Transition Zones: Times when children’s core capacities
change rapidly (= stages).