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: S37, 7 George Square

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
13/01/2009	10:00	11:00	Room S37, 7 George Square	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	10:00	10:50	Central
Lecture	Friday	09:00	09:50	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
- 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
- to evaluate sociobiological analyses of the evolution of 'honest' signalling-systems among animals