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LoginComparative PsychologyKatie Hall, Sarah BrosnanLAST REVIEWED: 09 November 2017LAST MODIFIED: 26 October 2015DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0176IntroductionComparative psychology, a subdiscipline of psychology, is the scientific study of the behavior and cognition of human and non-human animals, with emphasis on how behavior relates to phylogeny, ontogeny, and adaptation. Rooted in evolutionary principles, the field of comparative psychology seeks to answer a multitude of questions on a variety of species, with particular interest in how it relates to human behavior. While individual studies may not explicitly compare two or more species, the general focus is on comparing species, including humans, across one or more dimensions. Data contributed to the field from only one species are still valuable in that they may provide a point of comparison for future studies, or may help in developing general principles of animal psychology when pooled with studies of other species. Comparative psychology emerged in the late 1800s, as Charles Darwin’s evolutionary principles set a framework for asking questions about relationships between species and the similarities and differences in their behavior, and as Georges Cuvier’s comparative method in biology was being adopted in other scientific fields. Cuvier’s student, Pierre Flourens, an eminent researcher on the localized functions of different areas in the brain, published Psychologie Comparée in 1865, in which he proposed comparing humans and non-humans, and introduced the name of this new field of study. Shortly after, in 1882, Darwin’s student, George John Romanes, published Animal Intelligence, in which he described a mental hierarchy among animals from least complex to most advanced, thus setting the foundation for the comparative aspect of comparative psychology. There was a backlash against Romanes’ use of anthropomorphism (i.e., the attribution of humanlike qualities to animals) and also frustration over his collection of individual anecdotes rather than a controlled data set. This influenced C. Lloyd Morgan to suggest that animal behavior should not be interpreted in terms of complex psychological processes, when simpler explanations will suffice. Thus, comparative psychologists set about collecting data in controlled experiments to elicit and investigate particular behavior in animals and set a high standard for assuming higher-order, humanlike traits in species other than humans. Whereas the original goal of comparative psychology may have been to arrange species in some sort of hierarchy of intelligence, as Romanes began to do, contemporary psychologists now emphasize reference to differences in ecology, social structure, genetics, etc., in explaining differences in behavior. General OverviewsHistorically, “intelligent” has referred to behavior that researchers value, but the field is seeing a shift toward investigating the adaptive function of behavior: that is, behavior valuable to the study subjects. Due to the experimental aspect of comparative psychology, there has been a historical need to differentiate the field from ethology (the observation of natural animal behavior), though many overlaps in ideas, topics, and goals continue to exist. Additionally, there was a geographic split between the two fields, with ethologists based in Europe and comparative psychologists in the United States. Ethology began in the 1930s and was recognized internationally with biologists Nikolaas Tinbergen, Karl von Frisch, and Konrad Lorenz sharing a Nobel Prize in 1973 for their contributions to the field (von Frisch 1967, Lorenz 1981, Tinbergen 1963). Ethology focuses more on animals’ instinctual responses to stimuli through fixed action patterns, as well as developmental processes of imprinting, habituation, and associative learning. Behavioral development and comparative psychology, penned by a comparative psychologist, argued against the ethologists’ strict dichotomies of innate versus learned behaviors, and instead advocated for better research on behavioral development (Schneirla 1966). Behaviorism, a subfield of psychology spearheaded by Skinner 1938 is the study of trained responses in a laboratory setting, with interest in making predictions from directly observable behavior without reference to internal states, either physiological or mental, following Morgan’s canon. Behaviorism focused on operant (instrumental) and classical (Pavlovian) conditioning. Behaviorism emerged in the early 20th century and, although no longer the dominant view, has become more focused on emergent properties following a cognitive revolution mid-century. Comparative psychology is influenced by related disciplines such as behavioral ecology (the study of the evolutionary basis for behavior due to ecological pressures, following Tinbergen’s four questions on the adaptation, phylogeny, mechanism, and ontogeny of a behavior), animal cognition (studying the mental processes that control complex behavior), evolutionary psychology (studying whether psychological traits common among human cultures are evolved adaptations), and behavioral neuroscience (identifying the neural processes that underlie behavior). There are scholarly intersections among these fields, and currently there is a focus on a blending of ideas and methods, as is exemplified in the proliferation of “field experiments” (i.e., the use of a controlled experiment in a species’ natural environment that allows animals to interact with a device).
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Down What is evolutionary psychology?The discipline that considers psychological and behavioral phenomena as products of natural selection. Explores the implications of Darwinian theory for explaining behavior. There are changes in species over time. The mechanism for these changes according to Darwin is natural selection. There is natural variability in organism within a species.
What is the main focus of the study of evolution?They have focused on ultimate explanations for behavior-explanations that focus on traits and behaviors of the organism that have been shaped by natural selection. They have explained learning that otherwise seem to violate learning principles-autoshaping, learned taste aversions, why some associations are learned easier than others.
Why are some expectancies not easily learned in other species?Some expectancies can't be learned because of the evolutionary histories of the organism, while others are learned easily. Expectancies that are easily learned in one species may not be easily learned in another species because of differences in the evolutionary histories of the two species Explain Bolles' concept of niche.
What does the evolutionary approach emphasize?Evolutionary theory highlights the adaptive value of within-species variability. Optimal biological and behavioral strategies differ depending on the nature of the environmental context as well as the characteristics of the organism such as age, sex, health, or physical size.
Which of the following fields of study focuses on systematic processes of change and stability in human children?Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan.
What focuses on the scientific study of the systematic processes of change and stability in people?Developmental psychology is a scientific approach which aims to explain growth, change and consistency though the lifespan. Developmental psychology looks at how thinking, feeling, and behavior change throughout a person's life.
Which major theoretical perspective focuses on unconscious emotions and drives?Originating in the work of Sigmund Freud, the psychodynamic perspective emphasizes unconscious psychological processes (for example, wishes and fears of which we're not fully aware), and contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personality.
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While ethologists focus on cross-species comparisons, evolutionary psychologists focus on
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