| Course title | Cognitive ethology |
|---|---|
| Course code | KZO/160 |
| Organizational form of instruction | Lecture |
| Level of course | Master |
| Year of study | not specified |
| Frequency of the course | In academic years starting with an odd year (e.g. 2017/2018), in the summer semester. |
| Semester | Summer |
| Number of ECTS credits | 3 |
| Language of instruction | Czech |
| Status of course | Compulsory |
| Form of instruction | Face-to-face |
| Work placements | unspecified |
| Recommended optional programme components | None |
| Lecturer(s) |
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| Course content |
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Content of lectures: FS: 1) Introduction - what is cognition, comparative approach, evolution of brain and cognition. 2) Perception and attention - sensory ecology, what animals perceive, signal detection, role of attention. 3) Learning - advantage and limits of the process, conditioning, learning types for object recognition. 4) Memory - functions and attributes of memory, what is remembered and why is it forgotten? RF: 5) Discrimination, clasification, and concepts - reaction to natural stimuli, clasification of complex stimuli, discrimination learning, category discrimination and concepts, key features, signals. 6) Spatial cognition - orientation, navigation, cognitive maps, landmarks, spatial geometry, path integration, sun compass, magnetic orientation, distance assessment. 7) Time orientation - circadian rhythms, interval timing. 8) Numerical competence - numerosity discrimination, tracking of objects, serial position. MK: 9) Social intelligence - hypothesis on its origin, features of social knowledge, social understanding. 10) Theory of mind - self awareness, self-concepts, cheating, cooperation. 11) Social learning - learning in context, learning without and with imitation, animals as teachers, what could be learned (food preference, mobbing, mate choice), animal traditions and cultures. 12) Communication and language - natural communication systems, animal communication and language evolution, human-animal communication.
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| Learning activities and teaching methods |
Monologic (reading, lecture, briefing), Individual preparation for exam
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| Learning outcomes |
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To make students familiar with ability of animals to use various sources of information for solving behavioral tasks to meet their needs. The course graduates will be able to explain directly or to prepare an experiment concerning the mechanisms and set of information involved in solving a behavioral task.
The students will understand the basic concepts and theories applied in the research of animal cognition. They will understand the importance of comparative research and the consideration of interspecies differences in the study of animal cognition. They will understand the basic principles of field-relevant experiments and interpretation of their results. |
| Prerequisites |
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For students interested in animal behaviour, that passed the basic bachelor course "KZO/159 Biology of animal behaviour".
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| Assessment methods and criteria |
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Written examination, Seminar work
By written exam students will be asked to answer 10 questions briefly concerning the main principles and mechanisms of animal behaviour. Preparing a seminar paper concerning selected topic in cognitive ethology. |
| Recommended literature |
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| Study plans that include the course |
| Faculty | Study plan (Version) | Category of Branch/Specialization | Recommended semester | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty: Faculty of Science | Study plan (Version): Zoology (1) | Category: Biology courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
| Faculty: Faculty of Science | Study plan (Version): Zoology (1) | Category: Biology courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
| Faculty: Faculty of Science | Study plan (Version): Zoology (1) | Category: Biology courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
| Faculty: Faculty of Science | Study plan (Version): Zoology (1) | Category: Biology courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |