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The course provides the audience with an insight into the continuity and discontinuity of psychological phenomena, processes and mechanisms within the animal kingdom. The course is structured according to the basic paradigm of four levels of behavioral investigation (or 4 Tinberg questions), i.e. mechanisms, ontogeny, function and phylogenesis. The audience is encouraged to open, critical and informed knowledge of the richness, diversity and unifying features of the animal psyche. Examples of behavior especially of social insects and warm-blooded vertebrates, including humans, explain the principles and procedures of evolutionary-adaptive psychological investigation, phylogenetic analysis of the psyche, endocrinological and neurophysiological investigation of the psyche and study of the social dimension of the animal psyche. The interpretation is based mainly on the analysis of the following psychological phenomena: sensory perception, motivation, communication, learning, cognition, emotions, personality and protoethical phenomena in animals. The aim of the subject is to provide the audience with orientation in the current state of knowledge of the evolutionary roots of the psyche of man and to enable them to make independent judgement in questions of (non)uniqueness of the psychological constitution of humans. Poslední úprava: Špinka Marek, doc. RNDr., CSc. (27.09.2024)
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The aim of the course is to provide the listeners with orientation in the current state of knowledge of evolutionary roots of the human psyche and to enable them to make independent judgement in questions of (non)uniqueness of the human psyche. Furthermore, to acquaint the listeners with evolutionary mechanisms of behavioral and psychological transformations in phylogenesis. To enlighten the listeners on the biological view of the ontogeny of the psyche. Using a comparative view, i.e. on examples of significant psychological and behavioral phenomena across animal taxa, to show common and unique behavioral traits in model animal species. In doing so, to lay the foundation for understanding the biological roots of the human psyche in other psychological disciplines, especially in evolutionary, cognitive, developmental and social psychology. Poslední úprava: Špinka Marek, doc. RNDr., CSc. (27.09.2024)
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Grades are awarded according to the total number of points gained. Points can be obtained for individually designed tasks and active participation in lessons. Poslední úprava: Špinka Marek, doc. RNDr., CSc. (27.09.2024)
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a Poslední úprava: Hradcová Radka (27.09.2024)
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The subject provides the audience with an insight into the continuity and discontinuity of psychological phenomena, processes and mechanisms within the animal kingdom. The audience is encouraged to open, critical and informed knowledge of the richness, diversity and unifying features of the animal psyche. Examples of behavior especially of social insects and warm-blooded vertebrates including humans explain the principles and procedures of evolutionary-adaptive examination of the psyche, phylogenetic analysis of the psyche, endocrinological and neurophysiological examination of the psyche and study of the social dimension of the psyche of animals. The interpretation is based mainly on the analysis of the following psychological phenomena: sensory perception, motivation, communication, learning, cognition, emotion, personality and protoethical phenomena in animals. The subject aims in particular to provide the audience with an orientation in the current state of knowledge of evolutionary roots of the psyche of humans and to enable them to make independent judgement in questions of (non)uniqueness of the human psyche.
Acquired knowledge: The student understands the basic principles of biological evolution and phylogenesis including the concepts of natural selection, adaptation, evolutionary prowess (fitness), microevolution and macroevolution, phylogenetic affinity and homological and analogous traits. The student can relate these concepts to phenomena in animal behavior including humans. The student understands the role of genetic endowments and environment in ontogenetic formation of behavioral and psychological phenotype. The student understands the principles of sensory perception and communication in animals and especially mammals. The student understands how behavior is co-determined by an individual's psychological state and external stimuli and distinguishes types of learning in animals. The student distinguishes the components of phenotypic variability in behavior from immediate changes in motivation through learning processes to permanent inter-individual differences (personality) for example of different animal species. The student knows about methods of examining subjectivity, emotions and experience in non-verbal animals. The student is aware of the existence of group behavior in social animals and the causes of its formation. The student knows examples of continuity and discontinuity in the behavior and psyche of primates and apes including humans.
Acquired skills: - student can distinguish questions exploring behavior and psychology in terms of proximate mechanisms, in terms of ontogeny, in terms of evolutionary function/adaptivity and in terms of phylogenesis - student can demonstrate how these questions complement each other on examples of human behavior and psychology; - student can use these four aspects to analyze the causes of behavior of various species of animals, including humans; - student can use the principle of codetermination of inheritance and environment to mentally analyze ontogenetic causes of individual variability in behavior; - student can convert verbally formulated questions focused on behavior into a testable hypothesis and propose principles of experimental and statistical verification of the hypothesis; - student can make his own, based on meaningful arguments, judgement on ethical aspects of human behavior towards other animals.
Content of the course: Defining the subject of comparative psychology. Relationship of comparative psychology and evolutionary psychology with ethology on the one hand and with fields of human psychology on the other hand. Reproduction of the basic concepts of contemporary biology used in the study of behaviour, in particular the paradigm of the four levels of Tinbergen behaviour study. Phylogenesis: mutual relativity of species and its influence on interspecies similarities and differences in behaviour, homological and analogous phylogenetic parallels in behaviour. Evolution: natural selection and other evolutionary factors involved in the formation of behaviour. Ontogenesis: development of an individual, interaction of hereditary endowments and environment in the formation of behavioural phenotype. Principle of epigenetic development of phenotype and in particular behaviour during an individual's lifeSensory equipment and perception, processing of sensory impressions by the nervous system. Behavioural control. The issue of recognition and evaluation of stimuli, reaction to them, behaviour control, motivation. Hereditary behaviour. Relationship and interaction of hereditary endowments, physical and especially social environment in the formation of behavioural phenotype. Communication: sensory channels of communication, types and content of communication in animals. Plasticity of behaviour: Learning and its types, social dimension of learning in animals. Cognitive processes in animals. Processing, evaluation of information and decision-making processes in animals at individual and group level. Emotions and affective states from a comparative point of view. Their physiological basis and cognitive and adaptive meaning. Intensity and structure of emotional experience in animals. Inter-individual variability of psychological profiles and processes in animals. Question of personality in animals. Question of subjectivity, reflection of self and others in animals. Possible precursors of ethical evaluation of behaviour in animals. Social and group behaviour in animals. Mechanisms of coordination of behaviour in time and space. Interaction of individual behaviour and emergent characteristics of a group. Ethical questions of relationship between humans and other species of animals opened by comparative psychology. Poslední úprava: Špinka Marek, doc. RNDr., CSc. (27.09.2024)
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