Dear all
We have Emily Messer from St Andrews coming today to tell us about her research at Living Links on:
Squirrel monkey social learning
5.30pm - 3A94 as usual.
Hope to see you then, Hannah
If you wish to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the BERG mailing list please follow instructions here:
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Hannah M. Buchanan-Smith
Professor, Behaviour and Evolution Research Group
Psychology, School of Natural Sciences
University of Stirling
Stirling, FK9 4LA
Scotland
Tel: 01786 467674
Fax: 01786 467641
E-mail: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:h.m.buchanan-smith@stir.ac.uk>
http://www.psychology.stir.ac.uk/staff/staff-profiles/academic-staff/hannah…
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
Dear all
We have Emily Messer from St Andrews coming on Wednesday to tell us about her research at Living Links on:
Squirrel monkey social learning
5.30pm - 3A94 as usual.
Emily has emphasised that she is keen to get our feedback on her on-going research.
We are planning to go out for dinner afterwards, with Mark Bowler whose contract will soon be coming to an end (but we hope the next grant application will be successful and he will return!).
Please let me know by Tuesday afternoon if you would like to join us for dinner so I can book a table (possible at the Junk Rooms - see http://www.thejunkrooms.co.uk/ ).
Hope to see you then, Hannah
If you wish to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the BERG mailing list please follow instructions here:
http://lists.stir.ac.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/berg
Hannah M. Buchanan-Smith
Professor, Behaviour and Evolution Research Group
Psychology, School of Natural Sciences
University of Stirling
Stirling, FK9 4LA
Scotland
Tel: 01786 467674
Fax: 01786 467641
E-mail: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:h.m.buchanan-smith@stir.ac.uk>
http://www.psychology.stir.ac.uk/staff/staff-profiles/academic-staff/hannah…
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
Dear all
Please find attached a slightly revised programme for BERG.
We have Dr Roman Wittig from St Andrews coming on Wednesday to speak on:
Social bonds among chimpanzees - physiological evidence
5.30pm - 3A94 as usual.
Please let me know by end of tomorrow (Tuesday) if you would like to join us for a bite to eat in the Med afterwards (so I can book a table).
See you then, Hannah
If you wish to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the BERG mailing list please follow instructions here:
http://lists.stir.ac.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/berg
Hannah M. Buchanan-Smith
Professor, Behaviour and Evolution Research Group
Psychology, School of Natural Sciences
University of Stirling
Stirling, FK9 4LA
Scotland
Tel: 01786 467674
Fax: 01786 467641
E-mail: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:h.m.buchanan-smith@stir.ac.uk>
http://www.psychology.stir.ac.uk/staff/staff-profiles/academic-staff/hannah…
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
Dear all,
Just a reminder about today's BERG meeting. Rob Burris, who is currently working as a post-doc with Craig and Tony, will be giving talk on: Mate-preference versus mate-choice in humans. We start at 5.30pm as per usual, in the Psychology common room (3A94 Cottrell).
All the best,
Christine.
Dr Christine Caldwell
Senior Lecturer in Psychology
School of Natural Sciences
University of Stirling
FK9 4LA
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
Hi everybody,
I would like to clarify matters for the BERG group regarding the lecture series
and to explain my motivation, particularly as I apparently did a poor job of
doing so in the initial email. Let me first say that I am not trying to change
anybody's mind and people are, of course, free to hold their own views.
Moreover, If anybody still does not wish to attend, I understand completely.
The lecture series is dedicated to the "memory" and not the man and, by
dedication, I do not mean veneration, celebration, or otherwise. The series is
named as it is because Harlow's name is associated with two things. The first is
research on attachment, learning, and primate behavior. The second is the fact
that the controversial nature of his research led to massively increased
awareness regarding ethical and welfare considerations in animal research. As
such, every other year the lectures will given by experts in the ethics of
animal research and/or animal welfare from fields such as philosophy. Moreover, I
would like to stress that the research talks will not include invasive studies.
I understand that Harlow's name and work evokes passion and anger among many
people. However, I had hoped that these lectures would be a constructive way to
move forward, both by highlighting the outstanding research in these topics that
can be done ethically and without harming or interfering with the subjects and
in bringing up ethical issues that need to be considered when studying nonhuman
primates or other animals.
I hope that I have been able to better explain myself. I also would like to ask
for help in two matters. First, any suggestions for a subtitle for the lecture
series that would better explain what they are about would be hugely
appreciated. Second, recommendations for suitable speakers, particularly for the
animal ethics/welfare talks, would be great, too. So far I have gotten some
excellent suggestions for the latter, but more cannot hurt.
Anyway, I am sorry to be so long-winded and appreciate the time you have taken
to read this. If anybody wishes to discuss this with me further, please feel
free to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Alex
--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
While of course I agree with Liz's opinions regarding Harlow's research, it is a serious
historical error to judge the behaviour of a scientist of 50-odd years ago by the standards of today.
Today, homosexuals may marry and even contrive to have children: 50-odd years ago their behaviour was
punishable by custodial sentence. In both cases, what was done then was acceptable in 'the court
of public opinion' of the time, and is unacceptable in that court today.
One would have to be brave (and foolish) to say that everything which is acceptable today
in animal science will be acceptable in 50-odd years time, or that everything which is now
unacceptable will always be so.
Robin
Robin N Campbell
Psychology, Stirling
r.n.campbell(a)stir.ac.uk
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
Dear BERGers,
I was astonished and dismayed to learn that someone in our group would dedicate anything to Harry Harlow, and I will not be attending these lectures.
To quote Robert Sapolsky in Scientific American:
“These [Harlow’s] were brutal studies, animals shattered by isolation. They made Harlow a pariah in many circles. Useful science was produced (though not nearly enough to justify the extent of what was done, in my opinion). Animals suffered unspeakably.
“He [Harlow] did ethically troubling work without seeming ethically troubled. He responded to feminist and animal-rights critiques with caustic hostility, dinosaurish misogyny and flaunted indifference to his animals. His writing was savage and crude: I recall being moved to tears and outrage by those papers as a student. (An example: females who were socially isolated as infants were inept at mating. How to get them pregnant, to study their subsequent maternal behavior? Harlow wrote, proudly, of his 'rape rack.')”
Sincerely,
Liz Williamson
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Christine Caldwell <c.a.caldwell(a)stir.ac.uk<x-msg://5/c.a.caldwell@stir.ac.uk>>
Date: 27 October 2011 08:28
Subject: [BERG] FW: Harry Harlow Lecture
To: berg Mailing List <berg(a)lists.stir.ac.uk<x-msg://5/berg@lists.stir.ac.uk>>
Hi all,
Please see the email below from Alex Weiss about a lecture being held in Edinburgh on Monday.
Christine.
Hi everybody,
As part of the seminar series we have instituted a series of lectures dedicated
to the memory of Harry Harlow. Each seminar in this series will be held on the
Monday closest to his birthday (31 October) every year.
Harry Harlow was most famous for his "mother love" experiments which were
inspired by the work of John Bowlby and others. He found that the need for
'contact comfort' was key to the development of rhesus macaques and likely
humans. His work was not without controversy, but he contributed hugely to
research on attachment, animal behavior, learning, and several other areas
throughout his lifetime. These lectures will explore important themes from this
work, and will also include lectures on the ethics of animal research and animal
welfare.
The seminar will take place at the 7 George Square, The University of Edinburgh
at 5:15 and will be followed by a wine reception. The speaker will be
Bonaventura Majolo of Lincoln University.
The title of the talk is "Managing social relationships in wild macaques" and
should be of interest to those studying evolutionary psychology, social
psychology, and animal behavior.
Abstract: Nonhuman primates seem capable of establishing and maintaining long-
lasting social relationship with their group companions that resemble human
friendships. Recent studies on various primate species indicate that such
friendly relationships can be beneficial to individual fitness: animals having
stronger social bonds with their group companions have higher reproductive
success. Here I will discuss two aspects of social relationships namely, the
role of reciprocity and conflict resolution. Reciprocity is considered a key
feature of high quality social relationships in both humans and other species.
However, the reciprocal exchange of altruistic acts often occurrs at such low
rates so as to undermine its importance for friendship. Moreover, the asymmetric
nature of social relationships is frequently underestimated. With respect to
conflict resolution, I will discuss the importance of relationship quality for
the occurrence of reconciliation and how the post-conflict period may represent
an excellent opportunity to study the behavioural consequences of social
uncertainty.
Should anybody be interested in attending dinner with the speaker, please
contact me as soon as possible.
Best,
Alex
--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
Dear BERGers
We have Becky Leonardi speaking on Wednesday, describing her PhD programme:
Paws for Progress - A dog training rehabilitation programme
Becky has asked me to emphasise that there are no results as yet, but I know it will be an interesting session so please come along.
5.30pm - 3A94 as usual.
See you then, Hannah
If you wish to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the BERG mailing list please follow instructions here:
http://lists.stir.ac.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/berg
Hannah M. Buchanan-Smith
Professor, Behaviour and Evolution Research Group
Psychology, School of Natural Sciences
University of Stirling
Stirling, FK9 4LA
Scotland
Tel: 01786 467674
Fax: 01786 467641
E-mail: h.m.buchanan-smith(a)stir.ac.uk<mailto:h.m.buchanan-smith@stir.ac.uk>
http://www.psychology.stir.ac.uk/staff/staff-profiles/academic-staff/hannah…
________________________________
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
Hi folks,
If you have a chance, check out the next episode of *Origins of Us on BBC2
(Monday, 31 October @ 9pm) *which examines evolution of the brain. This
episode includes a segment on social politics highlighting the dynamics
within Edinburgh Zoo's recently formed group of 21 chimpanzees as I chat
briefly with Dr Alice Roberts about Machiavellian intelligence.
*Brains*
Episode: 3 of 3
Duration: 1 hour
In the final episode Dr Alice Roberts explores how our species, homo
sapiens, developed our large brain; and asks why we are the only one of our
kind left on the planet today?
The evolution of the human mind is one of the greatest mysteries. We are
special because of our extraordinary brain, and to understand why we think
and act the way we do, we need to look at where and why our brains evolved.
The Rift Valley in Kenya is thought to be the crucible of human evolution,
and here Alice examines the fossils in our family tree which reveal our
brains have more than quadrupled in size since our ancestors split from
chimpanzees. Drawing on research on social politics in chimpanzees, the
cognitive development of children and the tools that have been found
littered across the Rift Valley, Alice explores how and why our ancestors
brains became so big. It's thought their need to understand each other and
share knowledge has fundamentally shaped the brains we live with today.
But our big brains came at a cost. Alice visits a maternity hospital to
explore how our difficulties in giving birth are a result of our large
brained babies, and travels to meet the women of the Hadza tribe to explore
how looking after our large-brained children has shaped the life histories
of all of us. Research suggests old age isn't a consequence of modern
medicine, but an evolutionary adaptation to allow grandmothers to help
raise their grandchildren.
Successive species of increasingly large brained humans migrated around the
world - from Homo erectus to heidelbergensis, the Neanderthals to us. It's
always been assumed the reason that Homo sapiens succeeded where others
failed is to do with our large brains. But comparing skulls it's clear
Neanderthals had just as big a brain as us. So why is there only us left?
Alice goes to meet Svante Paabo, decoding the Neanderthal and human genome,
and Clive Finlayson, who is unearthing the Neanderthals final settlement,
to try to find out...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b013gmh1
Cheers,
Betsy
Elizabeth (Betsy) Herrelko
Postgraduate Student, University of Stirling
Honorary Research Associate, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
www.chimpcam.com
Hi all,
Please see the email below from Alex Weiss about a lecture being held in Edinburgh on Monday.
Christine.
Hi everybody,
As part of the seminar series we have instituted a series of lectures dedicated
to the memory of Harry Harlow. Each seminar in this series will be held on the
Monday closest to his birthday (31 October) every year.
Harry Harlow was most famous for his "mother love" experiments which were
inspired by the work of John Bowlby and others. He found that the need for
'contact comfort' was key to the development of rhesus macaques and likely
humans. His work was not without controversy, but he contributed hugely to
research on attachment, animal behavior, learning, and several other areas
throughout his lifetime. These lectures will explore important themes from this
work, and will also include lectures on the ethics of animal research and animal
welfare.
The seminar will take place at the 7 George Square, The University of Edinburgh
at 5:15 and will be followed by a wine reception. The speaker will be
Bonaventura Majolo of Lincoln University.
The title of the talk is "Managing social relationships in wild macaques" and
should be of interest to those studying evolutionary psychology, social
psychology, and animal behavior.
Abstract: Nonhuman primates seem capable of establishing and maintaining long-
lasting social relationship with their group companions that resemble human
friendships. Recent studies on various primate species indicate that such
friendly relationships can be beneficial to individual fitness: animals having
stronger social bonds with their group companions have higher reproductive
success. Here I will discuss two aspects of social relationships namely, the
role of reciprocity and conflict resolution. Reciprocity is considered a key
feature of high quality social relationships in both humans and other species.
However, the reciprocal exchange of altruistic acts often occurrs at such low
rates so as to undermine its importance for friendship. Moreover, the asymmetric
nature of social relationships is frequently underestimated. With respect to
conflict resolution, I will discuss the importance of relationship quality for
the occurrence of reconciliation and how the post-conflict period may represent
an excellent opportunity to study the behavioural consequences of social
uncertainty.
Should anybody be interested in attending dinner with the speaker, please
contact me as soon as possible.
Best,
Alex
--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
--
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland,
number SC 011159.
