HUMAN ETHOLOGY

ANTH 395.01 MAP

Spring 2003

V. Bentley-Condit Ext. 4305

Goodnow 307 bentleyc@grinnell.edu

In this course we will explore 1) the evolutionary bases for human behavior, 2) how to observe, record, and study human behavior and 3) the benefits and shortcomings of an ethological approach through both readings and hands-on projects. Each student will design and conduct a short ethological study of human behavior. As this course has a MAP designation, it will be research-centered and will require a public presentation at the end of the semester.

READINGS:

1) Darwin, C., 2002. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, 3^rd edition. Oxford University Press.

2) Lehner, P. 1998. Handbook of Ethological Methods, 2^nd edition. Cambridge University Press.

3) Schmitt, A., et al. 1997. New Aspects of Human Ethology. Plenum Press.

4) Cartwright, J. 2001. Evolution and Human Behavior. MIT Press.

5) Other readings as assigned (RR)

6) Provided supplementary materials (PV)

GRADING/REQUIREMENTS:

Absences – Don’t even think about it. If you must think about it, here’s how it works.

Absence #1 – If you are seen (i.e., don’t just contact) at the health center and have them contact me, you’re OK. Of course, it will have a negative impact on your class participation grade.

Absence #2 – If you are (a) hemorrhaging something at every orifice, (b) or hospitalized, (c) or dead and (d) have an excuse from a doctor, you’re OK. Again, it will negatively affect your grade and death will probably cause you to fail.

Absence #3 – I’ll have you removed from the class. (Yes, I can do that.)

Participation (50%) – Obviously, this is crucial. Everyone must participate all the time. This is not a lecture course; it’s a seminar. We’ll read things, talk about them, and do some hands-on projects. So, in addition to “you must always attend” add “you must always be prepared and participate”. Project (50%) – This, too, is crucial. This is what the entire course it building towards. I’ll provide you with more info as we go in terms of what the final paper should look like, etc. I would assume it will be somewhere around 20 pages in length and I’m leaning towards and NSF Grant Proposal format.

If you have issues with any of the above, now’s the time to find another course. If you have questions, now’s the time to ask.

SYLLABUS:

WEEK/DATE	TOPIC/ASSIGNMENT	READINGS
WINTER BREAK 23DEC-19JAN	One of the first ethological studies of humans	Darwin, entire book; Browne (PV); Armstrong (PV); Turner (PV); Fieldwork CD (PV); Mini-project
1 20JAN & 22JAN	1) Discussion of Darwin and mini-project	20^th – Darwin 22^th - Darwin, cont.
2 27JAN & 29JAN	1) What is human ethology 2) History of ethology. 3) Applying evolutionary theory to human behavior	27^nd – Cartwright 1 RR1: Tinbergen, 1963 RR2: Wilson, 1975 RR3: Wilson, 1976 RR4: Critique, 1976 29^th – Cartwright 2 Schmitt et al. 1 RR5: Kenrick, 1995
3 03FEB & 05FEB	1) Mating behavior & sexual selection 2) Doing ethology 3) Discussion of potential projects & sites	3^rd – Cartwright 3-4 Lehner 1-2 5^th – Cartwright 5 Schmitt et al. 189-224
4 10FEB & 12FEB	1) Brain, language, mind 2) Research delineation 3) Discussion of potential projects & sites	10^th – Cartwright 6-7 Schmitt et al. 5,6 12^th – Schmitt et al. 2,4 Lehner 3-5
5 17FEB & 19FEB	1) Sexual behavior and mate choice 2) Conflict 3) Research design 4) Determine topic, begin literature search & locate ethogram	17^th – Cartwright 8-9 19^th – Cartwright 10 Lehner 6-7
6 24FEB & 26FEB	1) Altruism 2) Data collection methods 3) Outline of literature review section due	24^th – Cartwright 11 Schmitt et al. 4 26^th – Schmitt et al. 3 Lehner 8-10
7 03MAR & 05MAR	1) The use and abuse of evolutionary theory 2) Further case studies 3) Practice observations 4) Outline of methodology due	3^rd – Cartwright 12 Schmitt et al. 7-9 5^th - RR6: Stern & Bender, 1974 RR7: Ice, 2002
8 10MAR & 12MAR	1) Further case studies 2) Practice Observations 3) Field trip (?) 4) Draft of proposal due	10^th - RR8: Hangland & Cimbalo, 1997 RR9: Freidenberg & Cimbalo, 1996 RR10: Eals & Silverman, 1994 RR11: Kohl et al., 2001 12^th – N/A
SPRING BREAK 15MAR – 30MAR	DATA COLLECTION
9 31MAR & 02APR	1) Discussion of spring break research 2) Data analysis 3) Begin data analysis	31^st – N/A 2^nd – Lehner 11-12
10 07APR & 09APR	1) Data analysis and write-up 2) Draft of data summary due 3) Case studies	7^th – RR12: O’Brien et al., 1983 RR13: Zeifman, 2001 9^th - RR14: Weisfeld, 1979 RR15: Zabel & Zabel, 1982 Lehner 13-18 (as needed)
11 14APR & 16APR	1) Data analysis and write-up 2) Individual meetings to put together presentations, slides, etc.	14^th – No Class 16^th – Practice presentations; N/A
12 21APR & 23APR Friday, 25 APR	1) Data analysis and write-up 2) Draft of data analysis	21^st – Practice presentations; N/A 23^rd – No Class 25^th or 26^th – IAS Meeting
13 28APR & 30APR	1) Data analysis and write-up 2) Draft of completed projects 3)Case studies	28^th – RR16: Hutchinson et al., 1996 RR17: Feierman, 1982 30^th – RR18: Troisi, 1999 RR19 : Dixon et al., 1989
14 05MAY & 07MAY	1) On Campus Presentations 2) Final projects due	5^th – N/A 7^th – N/A

RESERVED READINGS:

1) Tinbergen, N. 1963. On aims and methods of ethology. Zietschrift für Tierpsychologie 20:410-429.

2) Wilson, E.O., 1975. Sociobiology. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ch 27 – Man: from sociobiology to sociology. Pp. 547-575.

3) Wilson, E.O. 1976. Academic vigilantism and the political significance of sociobiology. Bioscience 26:183-190.

4) Sociobiology Study Group. 1976. Sociobiology – another biological determinism. Bioscience 26:182-186.

5) Kenrick, D. 1995. Evolutionary theory versus the confederacy of dunces. Psychological Inquiry

6:56-61.

6) Stern, D., Bender, E. 1974. An ethological study of children approaching a strange adult: sex differences. In Sex Differences in Behavior. Friedman, R., Richart, R., Vande Wiele, R. (eds). John Wiley & Sons, NY. Pp. 233-258.

7) Ice, G.H. 2002. Daily life in a nursing home. Has it changed in 25 years? Journal of Aging Studies16:345-359. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/web-editions

8) Hangland, A.,; Cimbalo, R. 1997. Human ethology: age and sex differences in mall walking. Perceptual and Motor Skills 85:845-846.

9) Freidenberg, B., Cimbalo, R. 1996. Human ethology: eating, security, and curiosity. Perceptual and Motor Skills 83:489-490.

10) Eals, M.; Silverman, I. 1994. The hunger-gatherer theory of spatial sex differences: proximate factors mediating the female advantage in recall of object arrays. Ethology and Sociobiology 15:95-105.

11) Kohl, J.; Atzmueller, M.; Fink, B.; Grammer, K. 2001. Human pheromones : integrating neuroendocrinology and ethology. Neuroendocrinology Letters22:309-321.

12) O’Brien, M.; Huston, A.; Risley, T. 1983. Sex-typed play of toddlers in a day care center. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 4:1-9.

13) Zeifman, D. 2001. An ethological analysis of human infant crying: answering Tinbergen’s four questions. Developmental Psychobiology 39:265-285.

14) Weisfeld, G. 1979. An ethological view of human adolescence. The Journal of Nervous and mental Disease67:38-55.

15) Zabel, R.; Zabel, M. 1982. Ethological approaches with autistic and other abnormal populations. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 12:71-83.

16) Hutchinson, S.; Leger-Krall, S.; Wilson, H.S. 1996. Toileting: a biobehavioral challenge in Alzheimer’s dementia care. Journal of Gerontological Care 22:18-27.

17) Feierman, J. 1982. Nocturnalism: an ethological theory of schizophrenia. Medical Hypotheses 9:455-479.

18) Troisi, A. 1999. Ethologicalr esearch in clinical psychiatry: the study of nonverbal behavior during interviews. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 23:905-913.

19) Dixon, A.; Fisch, H.; Huber, C. ; Walser, A. 1989. Ethological studies in animals and man, their use in psychiatry. Pharmacopsychiatry 22:44-50.