Evolutionary Psychobiology: Ecology, Behavior & Cognition

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

The study of animal behaviour, provides us with knowledge on the cognitive skills of a large variety of animal species and populations and their relation to social and ecological conditions, making it a crucial part of studies in psychology and biology. Each animal has special requirements to survive and reproduce, and the same problem is often solved in different ways in different species. Observations of such species-specific behaviours (e.g. tool use, food caching behaviour and imprinting) led to new insights in the anatomy and physiology of brain structures and their evolution. Studying our own behaviour and that of other animals can thus provide a window into our minds and insight into what makes us human.

When studying animal behaviour, questions are asked not only about “how” behaviour is controlled - what cognitive abilities are required- but also about what behaviour is for, why it evolved in the natural environment (“why” questions). In the second half of the course we will try to find ways to answer both questions.  For this, you will learn how to 1) design a behavioural study and 2) how to conduct behavioural measurements accurately and reliably.  You will work in an interdisciplinary team of students and learn the value of each discipline. We strongly encourage collaboration between multiple teams - an introduction to the establishment of international research consortia - and provides an opportunity to compare multiple animal species. The course will include a nine days practical where you collect behavioural data by observing any animal of your choice, such as a primate, dog, elephant, corvid or parrot species in a natural, semi-natural or captive environment (ARTIS zoo). The aim of these observations is to infer the extent of cognitive capacities, such as episodic-like memory, timing, planning, insight, orientation, recognition, communication, social learning and so on. The final aim of the practical work is to have you develop and present a promising design for an experimental (enrichment) or observational study. The practical work is alternated with lectures and journal clubs that will help you develop such a design. These will address topics as recording methods, observer bias, how to deal with confounding variables (through design and understanding of statistics), advantages of experiments versus observational designs, wild versus captive studies and how to measure validity and independency of collected data. Dependent on your enthusiasm and performance, such designs can be followed up with a Bachelor or Masters research project.

Study materials

Literature

• • Literature:
    • "Measuring Behaviour. An Introductory Guide”, 4th edition (2021), Martin, P. & Bateson, M., Cambridge University Press; ISBN 9781108745727.
    • "Cognition, Evolution and behaviour”, 2nd edition (2010), Shettleworth, S.J., Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195319842
  • Other:
    • additional articles

Software

Objectives

• explain why comparing our own behaviour to that of other animal species can provide a window into our mind.
• explain why studying animal behaviour helps us to understand where cognitive abilities are located in the brain, how they evolved and what methods scientists use to find out.
• name the four type of questions that ethologists in the past (e.g. Tinbergen) and present asked to understand behaviour of humans or other animals and provide examples of each type.
• describe the important transitions in primate brain evolution and theories on what makes us human.
• describe theories on selection pressures that drove primate brain evolution and evaluate which of these theories are currently best supported.
• describe the differences between primate and non-primate brains.
• describe the differences between and name examples of first and second order processes in animal cognition and evaluate the challenge of inferring their use from behavioural observations.
• describe the differences between and name examples of first and second order processes in animal cognition and evaluate the challenge of inferring their use from behavioural observations.
• explain how we can investigate the heritability of a cognitive ability and provide examples of cases in which domestication influenced cognition.
• describe the latest findings on comparative genomics and gene regulation in the primate lineage.
• describe the cons and pros of observational, quasi-experimental and experimental studies and give examples of such studies.
• describe the cons and pros of behavioural studies in captivity and the wild.
• explain how to conduct behavioural observations by identifying individuals and their different type of behaviours, making an ethogram, choosing and defining categories and types of measures (e.g. events or states).
• explain how to conduct behavioural measurements using a variety of recording methods (e.g. focal sampling vs scan sampling) and recording rules (e.g. continuous vs time sampling).
• explain how to conduct data sharing activities and inter-observer reliability tests in R.
• evaluate the cons and pros of different recording methods and rules.
• organize the theoretical knowledge obtained in the lectures and develop a research question.
• synthesize what you have learned in the practical and the lectures by conducting an observational pilot study, analyse and evaluate the results by descriptive statistics and design an observational or experimental study that answers a self-defined question about the behaviour of an animal of your choice.
• explain your research ideas by giving a conference style oral presentation within a symposium.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Laptop seminar
• Fieldwork/excursion
• Presentation/symposium
• Supervision/feedback meeting
• Self-study
• Computer lab session/practical training
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

This is a fulltime course where attendance to all components of the course is obligatory as they are needed to reach the learning goals.  This includes lectures (hoor-werkcolleges) where active interaction between the lecturers and fellow students are needed and expected to reach goals 1-14 and 17 as well as a collaborative and communicative attitude needed to reach goals 18 and 19. We count on a full deployment of you all (read: 42 working hours per week)

Assessment

For the theoretical part of the course (first 5 weeks) you will be asked to join 5 journal clubs, join lectures and read scientific papers and chapters from the books "Measuring Behaviour'' and "Cognition, Evolution and behaviour".

Assessment of the theoretical part will take place by means of a digital exam in ANS. The grade for this exam will count as 40% of the final grade and needs to be 5.5 or higher.

For the practical part of the course (last three weeks) - your final research project, your grade needs to be 5.5. or higher and will count for 60% of your final grade. 

Your grade for your own project will be composed using  the grade you receive for 1) a first introduction of your ideas for your own research project (final presentation Journal Club & ARTIS), 2) the data collection documents you deliver for your pilot study (e.g., datasheets), 3) your peer review  and 4) your final oral presentation (see the assessment form of your own research project on Canvas for details about this grading). 

The  first four Journal Clubs are meant to inspire you for, and help you with the design of your own research project and to help you practice creating a powerpoint presentation for your final project presentation. 

There is only a resit possibility for the digital exam (the theoretical part of the course) but not for the practical part. If you fail the practical part, you need to redo the course.

Inspection of assessed work

Studenten kunnen een afspraak maken met de docenten om de beoordeling in te zien. Over deze mogelijkheid zullen de docenten via email naar de studenten communiceren.

Since some of the lectures will be at ARTIS zoo we expect you to be in time and make appropriate travel arrangement

Assignments

See the introduction lecture pdf of the course on Canvas

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Exit qualifications

Zie de Zichtbare Leerlijnen Creator voor de koppeling van vakleerdoelen, leerlijndoelen en eindtermen.

https://datanose.nl/#program[BSc%20PB]/trajectories

https://datanose.nl/#program[BSc%20PB]/outcomes

Contact information

Coordinator

• prof. dr. Karline Janmaat

Staff

• dr. Nicole Walasek
• dr. W. Frankenhuis
• dr. F.M.J. Jacobs
• dr. A. Ploeger
• dr. ir. Michiel van Wijk
• Lotte Koot (TA)
• Aurora Teuben (MSc TA)
• Pia den Braver (TA)
• Elsbeth Bland (TA)