Wolfgang Köhler's the mentality of apes and the animal psychology of his time

In 1913, the Anthropoid Station for psychological and physiological research in chimpanzees and other apes was founded by the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (Berlin) near La Orotava, Tenerife. Eugene Teuber, its first director, began his work at the Station with several studies of anthropoid apes’ natural behavior, particularly chimpanzee body language. In late 1913, the psychologist Wolfgang Köhler, the second and final director of the Station, arrived in Tenerife. During his stay in the Canary Islands, Köhler conducted a series of studies on intelligent behavior in chimpanzees that would become classics in the field of comparative psychology. Those experiments were at the core of his book Intelligenzprüfungen an Menschenaffen (The Mentality of Apes), published in 1921. This paper analyzes Köhler's experiments and notions of intelligent behavior in chimpanzees, emphasizing his distinctly descriptive approach to these issues. It also makes an effort to elucidate some of the theoretical ideas underpinning Köhler's work. The ultimate goal of this paper is to assess the historical significance of Köhler's book within the context of the animal psychology of his time (AU)

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Skinner y la psicología: lo que hizo, lo que no hizo y lo que nos corresponde hacer / No disponible

En este trabajo, realizado desde el interior del espacio conceptual conductista, se reflexiona, en primer lugar, sobre el papel de Skinner en relación con los diversos conductismos para, después, abordar la concepción skinneriana de la explicación científica, la lógica de la investigación y la construcción teórica. Posteriormente se analizan las innovaciones que, dentro de la teoría del condicionamiento, introdujo Skinner, destacando las ventajas que ello supuso así como los nuevos problemas que planteó a la teoría de la conducta. A continuación se realiza una aproximación a la contribución metodológica de Skinner -la operante libre- y se evalúa su impacto histórico sobre las prácticas de investigación psicológica. Se destaca también el interés skinneriano por el comportamiento humano y cómo sólo de forma analógica y muy parcialmente Skinner se acercó a su análisis experimental en el laboratorio; se resalta cómo el resto de su abordaje de la conducta humana puede caracterizarse como un análisis hermeneútico y de extensión definicional y teórica. En tal sentido se revisan, principalmente, sus concepciones sobre la conducta gobernada por reglas y la conducta verbal. Finalmente, se analiza la lógica del nacimiento y evolución de la tecnología conductual con base skinneriana, subrayando las restricciones que el paradigma del condicionamiento operante impuso a la metodología aplicada al ser extrapolado a situaciones sociales humanas (AU)

This paper which concentrates on the behaviorist conceptual approach, reflects, firstly, on Skinner’s role in relation with various behaviorisms and then goes on to tackle the Skinnerian conception of scientific explanation, the logic of research and theoretical construction. Subsequently the innovations are analyzed that, within the conditioning theory, Skinner introduced, pointing out the advantages of these innovations as well as the new problems that they created for the behaviour theory. In the following an approximation to Skinner’s methodological contribution -the free operant- is carried out, ‘and its historical impact on the practices of psychological research is assessed. The paper also highlights Skinnerian interest for human behaviour and how, only in an analogical fashion and very partially, Skinner approached its experimental analysis in the laboratory; it is emphasized how the rest of his approach towards human behaviour can be characterized as a hermeneutical analysis and as a definitional and theoretical extension. Thus, it is mainly his conceptions about rule-governed behaviour and verbal behaviour that are reviewed. Finally, the logic of the birth and evolution of Skinnerian based behavioral technology is analyzed, underlining the restrictions that the paradigm of operant conditioning imposed on applied methodology on being extrapolated to human social conditions (AU)

La evolución de la psicología animal y su lugar en la psicología actual / No disponible

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XXIII Congreso Internacional de la Sociedad Española de Psicología Comparada / No disponible

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La percepción fonética en ratas: una nueva medida de discriminación / Phonetic perception in rats: a new discrimination measure

Durante las últimas décadas se ha demostrado que la experiencia con el habla cambia la percepción fonética en humanos. Varios estudios más recientes realizados con animales han demostrado que, al igual que en los humanos, una experiencia previa con los estímulos del habla también cambia su percepción de los estímulos fonéticos. Estos estudios, en mayor o menor medida, se han basado en procedimientos con entrenamiento para medir la capacidad de discriminación fonética en los animales. En el presente estudio se realizaron dos experimentos con ratas con la intención de explorar la influencia de la exposición previa a estímulos fonéticos, usando una medida que permitiera obtener una respuesta del animal sin necesidad de un entrenamiento extenso. Los resultados mostraron que una experiencia previa con estímulos fonéticos modifica su percepción. Las ratas expuestas previamente a sonidos del mismo conjunto fonético que el usado en la fase de prueba, mostraron un nivel de generalización más alto de los estímulos cercanos al estímulo referente en comparación a un grupo de ratas previamente expuestas a un conjunto de sonidos distinto y a otro grupo de ratas no expuestas previamente a ningún sonido (AU)

During the last decades it has been demonstrated that language experience changes phonetic perception in humans. Some of the recent studies with animals have also revealed that, like humans, linguistic experience also changes phonetic perception in animals. These studies have relied on training procedures to measure phonetic discrimination. In the current study two experiments with rats were run to explore the role of phonetic pre-exposition using a training-exempt procedure. The results revealed that previous non reinforced exposure to phonetic stimuli modifies their subsequent perception. Rats previously exposed and tested with sounds from the same phonetic set showed a higher generalization level of these sounds than a group of rats previously exposed to a distinct phonetic set and a group of rats not previously exposed to any speech sound (AU)

Controlled studies of chimpanzee cultural transmission.

Following the first long-term field studies of chimpanzees in the 1960s, researchers began to suspect that chimpanzees from different African populations varied in their behavior, and that some of these variations were transmitted through social learning, thus suggesting culture. Additional reports of chimpanzee culture have since accumulated, which involve an increasing amount of behavioral variation that has no obvious ecological or genetic explanation. To date, close to 50 cultural variants have been reported, including subsistence behavior, tool-use, communication signals, and grooming patterns. Nevertheless, field studies lack the experimental controls and manipulations necessary to conclusively demonstrate that the observed variation results from differential invention and social transmission of behavior. This would require that behavioral variants have been learned from others, a question best addressed in a controlled experimental setting. The following chapter details a series of experimental studies at Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University. In each case, the behavior of two captive groups (each N=12 individuals) was compared before and after the introduction of a novel foraging behavior by a trained conspecific "inventor." The studies were designed to investigate (i) the conditions under which chimpanzees learn from one another, (ii) how behaviors are transmitted, (iii) how cultures are maintained over generations. The results emphasize the importance of integrating both fieldwork and experimental approaches. Previous studies have reported deficits in chimpanzees' cultural capacities, but did so after testing them with human models, which are largely irrelevant to the problem at hand. A representative understanding of culture can only be gained when efforts are made to create a naturalistic learning environment in which chimpanzees have opportunities to learn spontaneously from conspecifics in a familiar social setting.

Comparative psychology, a new perspective for the 21st century: up the spiral staircase.

This article responds to the continuing obituaries for Comparative Psychology. We understand the field to be a general psychology, a way of understanding the origins of all behavior of all species. We outline a methodological and conceptual foundation for comparative psychology to enter the new millennium-with an anagenetic and dynamic systems perspective. We see an important role to be played by comparative psychologists in managing resources, increasing our activity in social and political issues, and transcending our traditional role as the study of animal behavior to one that makes significant contributions to psychology and humanity by studying relationships between animals and changing environments, and by providing a historical perspective on human evolution.

Can behavioral evolution be measured on a staircase? A commentary.

The serious, comparative study of behavioral complexity that Greenberg et al. advocate is a progressive direction for the field, but their proposal to separate comparative psychology from its roots in evolutionary biology seems regressive. Modern evolutionary theory has been broadened within biology to include development and paleontology alongside natural selection, making closer integration with that discipline particularly timely. Such an integrated evolutionary approach in psychology would offer a useful alternative to the adaptationism popularized by evolutionary psychology. Although the differences between comparative psychologists and biologists may be blurred in the process, the behavioral sciences will be better served by a rich biological approach to evolution than by a uniquely psychological approach.

Comparative psychology is still alive but may be losing relevance.

Greenberg et al., in their perspective on the current state and fate of comparative psychology, present convincing data that the field is viable and that comparative psychologists are making important contributions to the research literature. The central feature of the field is its emphasis upon evolution. This is also its weakness since advances in genetic techniques permit researchers to create laboratory animals that have no counterpart in the natural world, and thus have no evolutionary history. These "unnatural" animals are widely used in behavioral, biological, and medical studies, but the findings cannot be interpreted within a comparative psychology framework. As the use of these preparations expand, the relevance of comparative psychology diminishes.

The aims and accomplishments of comparative psychology.

Greenberg, Partridge, Weiss, and Pisula propose a new perspective of comparative psychology, based in large part on an anagenetic and dynamic systems approach to the development and evolution of behavior. Their view appreciates the probabilistic nature of behavioral development and promotes the value of an integrative levels concept for generating testable hypothesis regarding the complex relationship between biology, context, and developmental history underlying behavioral and psychological functioning. However, the authors fail to represent the full scope of contemporary comparative psychology by overlooking several core aims of the field, including (a) the use of animal models to shed light on human behavior and development and (b) understanding the role of behavior as a leading edge in the evolutionary process.

[Review of the gender research in cross-cultural psychology since 1990: conceptual definitions and methodology].

A review of the cross-cultural research on gender in psychology since 1990 reveals (1) conceptual confusion of the definitions of sex, gender, man, and woman; (2) diversification, refinement, reification, and a problem-solving orientation in the research topics; and (3) the possibility of the elucidation of the psychological sex-difference mechanism in relation to the biological sex differences. A comparison of 1990 and 2000 cross-cultural psychological articles published in "Sex Roles" found that overall, the research is Western-centered and some methodological problems remain to be solved concerning the measures and the sampling. These findings lead to the following suggestions for cross-cultural research on gender to resolve the problems and contribute to the development of psychology in general: (1) use of an operational definition for conceptual equivalence; (2) conducting more etic-approach research; (3) avoiding ethnocentric or androcentric research attitudes; (4) use of a theoretical framework; (5) strict examination of methodologies; and (6) examination of the specific context of participants in terms of cultural diversity, dynamics of husband-wife relationships, and relationships with husbands and fathers.

From mice to men: what can we learn about personality from animal research?

The author explores the viability of a comparative approach to personality research. A review of the diverse animal-personality literature suggests that (a) most research uses trait constructs, focuses on variation within (vs. across) species, and uses either behavioral codings or trait ratings; (b) ratings are generally reliable and show some validity (7 parameters that could influence reliability and 4 challenges to validation are discussed); and (c) some dimensions emerge across species, but summaries are hindered by a lack of standard descriptors. Arguments for and against cross-species comparisons are discussed, and research guidelines are suggested. Finally, a research agenda guided by evolutionary and ecological principles is proposed. It is concluded that animal studies provide unique opportunities to examine biological, genetic, and environmental bases of personality and to study personality change, personality-health links, and personality perception.

Issues in comparative psychology at the dawn of the 20th century.

Comparative psychology emerged as part of the "new psychology" that took hold in the United States around 1900. Many of the issues that have occupied comparative psychologists throughout the 20th century were developed as research problems during this period. In some respects, comparative psychology was then an integral and widely respected part of psychology at large; in others, it was already marginalized. Issues emerging during this critical period set the program for the upcoming century and included those of methodology in the conduct of experiments and conceptual issues related to evolution, development, intelligence, and higher processes.

Developmental psychobiology: a look back on 30 years.

Developmental Psychobiology publishes papers from the disciplines of psychology, biology, neuroscience, and medicine that contribute to an understanding of behavioral development. Research focuses on development in the embryo/fetus, neonate, juvenile, and adult as well as multidisciplinary research that relates behavioral development to anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, and evolution. The journal represents a broad phylogenetic perspective on behavioral development by including studies on invertebrates, fish, birds, non-human primates, and humans. This paper presents an analysis of empirical articles published since its first issue in 1968. This analysis covers number of authors, sex of first author; evidence of grant support, and participation of investigators from outside the US. Additionally, the analysis includes the topic of research, level of analysis, and subject of experimental study. Over its 32-year history, Developmental Psychobiology has published papers on a wide range of topics representing a broad phylogenetic perspective with a continued focus on behavioral investigation. This analysis revealed trends such as an increase in the number of studies at a physiology/anatomy level, an increase in studies with human subjects, and increases in contributions from investigators outside of the United States as well as women.

Diversos niveles de análisis grupal en una seción terapéutica: un ejemplo clínico / Diverse levels of group analysis in a therapy session: a clinical example

El autor presenta una sesión psicoanalítica de grupo llevada a cabo en la clínica de la Asociación Mexicana de Psicoterapia Analítica de Grupo, A.C., en la cual identifica los diversos niveles de interpretación que pueden considerarse en ella: nivel institucional, nivel organizacional, nivel grupal y nivel individual.

Single-gene influences on brain and behavior.

As traditional behavioral genetics analysis merges with neurogenetics, the field of neurobehavioral genetics, focusing on single-gene effects, comes into being. New biotechnology has greatly accelerated gene discovery and the study of gene function in relation to brain and behavior. More than 7,000 genes in mice and 10,000 in humans have now been documented, and extensive information about the genetics of several species is readily available on the World Wide Web. Based on knowledge of the DNA sequence of a gene, a targeted mutation with the capacity to disable it can be created. These knockouts--also called null mutants--are employed in the study of a wide range of phenotypes, including learning and memory, appetite and obesity, and circadian rhythms. The era of examining single-gene effects from a reductionistic perspective is waning, and research with interacting arrays of genes in various environmental contexts is demonstrating a need for systems-oriented theory.

Neuroethology of spatial learning: the birds and the bees.

The discipline of neuroethology integrates perspectives from neuroscience, ethology, and evolutionary biology to investigate the mechanisms underlying the behavior of animals performing ecologically relevant tasks. One goal is to determine if common organizational principles are shared between nervous systems in diverse taxa. This chapter selectively reviews the evidence that particular brain regions subserve behaviors that require spatial learning in nature. Recent evidence suggests that the insect brain regions known as the mushroom bodies may function similarly to the avian and mammalian hippocampus. Volume changes in these brain regions during the life of an individual may reflect both developmental and phylogenetic trends. These patterns may reveal important structure-function relationships in the nervous system.

Apparatus as milestones in the history of comparative psychology.

Significant apparatus developments from the history of comparative psychology are reviewed, including the contemporary trend toward computer use in research with nonhuman animals. It is argued that milestone apparatus served not only to open new lines of inquiry but also to shape or delimit the nature of the answers that were obtained.

Animal research in psychology: declining or thriving?

From Dialog's PsychINFO database the number of studies with 6 species reported in the Psychological Abstracts was calculated for each year from 1967 to 1988. Also, the number of studies with an additional 11 species were calculated for each year from 1973 to 1988. A hand search in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and Learning and Motivation was also conducted to explore trends in studies on 12 species from 1970 to 1987. The numbers of studies on many species (e.g., baboons, bats, chimpanzees, dolphins, gerbils, guinea pigs, gorillas, hamsters, lemurs, mice, pigeons, rats, seals, and snakes) have remained stable. There has, however, been a steady decline in the numbers of studies on selected species (e.g., cats, dogs, and rabbits). Possible reasons for changing trends in studies on selected species include: increased costs, the cognitive emphasis in psychology, and arguably, animal rights activism.