PSYB20H3 Chap.5 Ethology, Ecology and Indigenous Views
Ethology, Ecology and Indigenous Views
Ethology: behaviour shaped by evolution
Ethological and evolutionary theories, as taught in PSYB20H3, emphasize the bioevolutionary basis of behaviour. They ask how a behaviour helped a species adapt through natural selection and focus on inborn behaviours that every member of a species shares.
The course example of an adaptive infant behaviour is crying, which draws caregivers close so that basic needs are met and the contact needed for emotional attachment is secured.
Ethology's influence on developmental psychology is relatively recent.
Critical and sensitive periods
Konrad Lorenz's ducks, which imprinted on him, are the classic case of a critical period: a limited window in which a particular experience must occur. A sensitive period is a time when development is most readily shaped but remains possible later.
Ethology is credited with studying development in naturalistic settings, comparing humans with other species and highlighting biological foundations.
It is criticised as hard to test, as offering after-the-fact explanations, as downgrading cultural learning, and for critical and sensitive period ideas that may be too rigid.
Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems
Urie Bronfenbrenner described the environment as a series of nested systems with bidirectional influences.
The microsystem is the child's immediate settings, the mesosystem is the connections among them, the exosystem is settings the child does not enter that still affect them, the macrosystem is culture and law, and the chronosystem is change over time.
The theory gives the richest description of environmental influence and suggests interventions at many levels, but it is hard to generalize, says little about biology and cognition, and works best alongside other theories.
Indigenous theories of development
Indigenous theories view children's health and wellness in the context of their relationships with other people and with the environment, and treat development holistically.
The lecture names the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework and the Breath of Life theory, which holds that knowledge is understood through four dimensions of learning, here listed as the physical, the spiritual, the cognitive and the emotional.
What questions on this lecture ask
Expect classification items that ask which ecological system an influence belongs to, items that ask whether a window is critical or sensitive, and evaluation questions that ask for a contribution and a criticism of a named theory.
The safest answers name the deciding feature: whether the child participates in a setting, whether a window truly closes, and what each theory treats as the main source of development.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Natural selection and adaptive behaviour
- 02
Lorenz and imprinting
- 03
Critical and sensitive periods
- 04
Microsystem and mesosystem
- 05
Exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem
- 06
Indigenous theories of development
- 07
Breath of Life theory
Worked example · free
Place one child's influences in Bronfenbrenner's rings
- 1(i) Kai takes part directly in time with his grandmother: microsystem.
- 1(ii) The meeting links two of his settings, home and school: mesosystem.
- 1(iii) Kai never enters his mother's workplace, yet it changes his evenings: exosystem.
- 1(iv) A provincial rule reflects the wider society's laws: macrosystem.
Key terms
- Ethology
- Ethology is the study of the bioevolutionary basis of behaviour and of the inborn behaviours a species shares.
- Imprinting
- Imprinting is the rapid bond young animals form with the first moving object they see, as Lorenz showed with ducks.
- Exosystem
- The exosystem is a setting the child does not enter that still affects the child, such as a parent's workplace.
- Breath of Life Theory
- Breath of Life theory holds that knowledge is understood through spiritual, emotional, physical and cognitive dimensions of learning.
Ethology, Ecology and Indigenous Views FAQ
What is the difference between a critical period and a sensitive period?
A critical period is a limited window in which a specific experience must occur for normal development, as with Lorenz's imprinting ducks. A sensitive period is a time when development is most easily shaped but can still occur later. The course asks whether these concepts are too rigid for human development.
How do I tell the exosystem from the macrosystem?
Both are settings the child does not directly take part in. The exosystem is a specific setting, such as a parent's workplace or a local school board, while the macrosystem is the broad culture, values and laws of the society. A single employer's decision is exosystem; a national law is macrosystem.
What do Indigenous theories of development emphasize?
They view a child's health and wellness through the child's relationships with other people and with the environment, and they understand development holistically. The Breath of Life theory adds that knowledge must be understood through spiritual, emotional, physical and cognitive dimensions of learning.
Exam move
Draw the five ecological systems from memory and write two influences from your own childhood in each ring. Then list a contribution and a criticism for ethology and for ecological systems theory, and practise turning each pair into a two-sentence evaluation.
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