Animal Communication and Sociobiology (P00172)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : PPL-P-ACSB

The course has two sections: One explores different approaches to the study of communication and cognition in primates, birds, and invertebrates, and reflects current ethological and psychological research. The other* explores sociobiological approaches to the understanding of behaviour: it will cover the sociobiology of aid-giving, parental behaviour, reproductive strategy and mate choice, group life, contests and contest resolution, and it will make particular reference to the use of sociobiological ideas in understanding signalling and communication.

* This section (50% of the teaching) will be shared with P01577, Evolutionary Psychology.

Venue: 1.01, 14 Buccleuch Place

Entry Requirements

? Costs : None

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Language Sciences, (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Schedule I)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
15/01/2008	10:00	11:00			1.01, 14 Buccleuch Place

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	10:00	10:50	Central
Lecture	Friday	09:00	10:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course the student will be able to explain and evaluate the ways in which comparative studies have offered an understanding of the evolution of behaviour; to describe the kinds of information that animals can transfer in their natural communication and evaluate the techniques that have been used to study this; and to explain the similarities and differences between communication in non-human primates and in animals such as the honey bee and other social insects, and language-based communication in human beings. Students will be able to identify and evaluate the key sociobiological ideas relating to aid-giving, parental behaviour, reproductive strategy and mate choice, and contest resolution; to give an account of sociobiological approaches, including simple game-theoretic models; and to evaluate sociobiological analyses of the evolution of 'honest' signalling-systems among animals.