- "Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior."
It compares the behavior of different animal species to understand the evolution and function of behavior.
Animal Behavior: Study of the behavioral patterns and interactions of animals, including their responses to stimuli, communication, and social organization.
Evolutionary Psychology: Study of the evolutionary origins of human behavior and cognition, including the ways in which natural selection has shaped the brain and behavior.
Ethology: Study of the natural behavior and communication of animals in their natural habitats, including the study of their social behavior, communication patterns, and cognitive abilities.
Cognitive Psychology: Study of mental processes, including perception, attention, memory, language, and problem-solving, as well as how these processes influence behavior.
Social Psychology: Study of how individual behavior is influenced by social factors, including the ways in which attitudes, beliefs, and social norms shape behavior in groups.
Developmental Psychology: Study of the development and changes in behavior and mental processes that occur over an individual's lifetime, including the ways in which cognition, personality, and social behavior change over time.
Neuroscience: Study of the nervous system and how it controls behavior, including the functions of different brain regions and the neural basis of cognitive processes.
Ecological Psychology: Study of the relationship between organisms and their environments, including the ways in which organisms perceive and interact with their surroundings.
Anthropology: Study of human societies, cultures, and behavior, including the ways in which cultural factors influence behavior and cognition.
Sociobiology: Study of the biological basis of social behavior, including how social behaviors have evolved in different species and the ways in which genetic and environmental factors shape social behavior.
- "In its narrow meaning, it refers to the study of the similarities and differences in the psychology and behavior of different species." - "In a broader meaning, comparative psychology includes comparisons between different biological and socio-cultural groups, such as species, sexes, developmental stages, ages, and ethnicities."
- "Research in this area addresses many different issues, uses many different methods and explores the behavior of many different species from insects to primates."
- "Donald Dewsbury reviewed the works of several psychologists and their definitions and concluded that the object of comparative psychology is to establish principles of generality focusing on both proximate and ultimate causation."
- "However, some researchers feel that direct comparisons should not be the sole focus of comparative psychology and that intense focus on a single organism to understand its behavior is just as desirable; if not more so."
- "Using a comparative approach to behavior allows one to evaluate the target behavior from four different, complementary perspectives, developed by Niko Tinbergen."
- "First, one may ask how pervasive the behavior is across species (i.e. how common is the behavior between animal species?)."
- "Second, one may ask how the behavior contributes to the lifetime reproductive success of the individuals demonstrating the behavior (i.e. does the behavior result in animals producing more offspring than animals not displaying the behavior)?"
- "Third, what mechanisms are involved in the behavior (i.e. what physiological, behavioral, and environmental components are necessary and sufficient for the generation of the behavior)?"
- "Fourth, a researcher may ask about the development of the behavior within an individual (i.e. what maturational, learning, social experiences must an individual undergo in order to demonstrate a behavior)?"
- "Comparative psychology is sometimes assumed to emphasize cross-species comparisons, including those between humans and animals."
- "The object of comparative psychology is to establish principles of generality focusing on both proximate and ultimate causation."
- "Comparative psychology includes comparisons between different biological and socio-cultural groups, such as species, sexes, developmental stages, ages, and ethnicities."
- "Research in this area explores the behavior of many different species from insects to primates."
- "Using a comparative approach to behavior allows one to evaluate the target behavior from four different, complementary perspectives, developed by Niko Tinbergen."
- "Theories addressing the proximate causes of behavior are based on answers to these two questions [mechanisms and development of behavior within an individual]."
- "Theories addressing the ultimate causes of behavior are based on the answers to these two questions [pervasive behavior across species and behavior's contribution to reproductive success]."
- Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals."
- "Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals."
- "Comparative psychology allows one to evaluate the target behavior from four different, complementary perspectives, developed by Niko Tinbergen."