1.1 Intro to Behaviour

Question 1

What are the 3 Fs? give eg’s for the first 2

Answer 1

feeding (appetitive motivation, growth) fighting (aversive motivation, safety + aggression) fucking

Question 2

What words are related in tinbergen’s 4 questions?

Answer 2

causation = mechanism
development = ontogeny
function = adaptive value
evolution = phylogeny

Question 3

tinbergen: what does causation refer to?

Answer 3

immediate biological causes of behaviour (hormones, genes, nerve impulses) –> what/how neural networks are activated when a bird sings?

Question 4

tinbergen: what does development refer to?

Answer 4

how a behaviour has developed over an individual’s lifetime, owing to genetics, learning, environmental influences –> how does a young bird learn its species song?

Question 5

tinbergen: what does evolution refer to?

Answer 5

why has a behaviour developed in a certain species, considering ancestry and evolutional history –> why did singing develop in certain species (eg birds) but not reptiles?

Question 6

tinbergen: what does function refer to?

Answer 6

the adaptive value/contribution that the behaviour makes to FITNESS –> why does singing increase chances of finding a mate and thus species survival?

Question 7

what are the dual process theories divided into? outline each

Answer 7

automatic/implicit –> low effort, high capacity, rapid, no needed working memory, parallel
controlled/explicit –> high effort, low capacity, slower, limited by working memory, serial

Question 8

what are the three simple processes a flock of starlings’ behaviour can be predicted by? briefly describe each

Answer 8

separation - avoiding crowding neighbours
alignment - steering towards average direction of neighbours
cohesion - steering towards average position of neighbours

Question 9

what are positive feedback loops?

Answer 9

A causes B –> B causes A
* vicious/amplifying cycle

Question 10

what are negative feedback loops?

Answer 10

A causes B –> B reduces A
* stabilising/dampening cycle

Question 11

what letter/symbol indicates a biologically significant stimulus?

Answer 11

S*

Question 12

what is classical conditioning, in modern research notation?

Answer 12

S-S, S-S*, S-O

Question 13

what is instrumental conditioning, in modern research notation?

Answer 13

R-O, R-S*

Question 14

what is the ABC of behaviour?

Answer 14

antecedent, behaviour, consequence

Question 15

describe an antecedent (ABC of behaviour)

Answer 15

• discriminative stimulus (guides behavior by indicating what will happen if a certain action is taken)
• event that comes before the response; the trigger

Question 16

describe a behaviour (ABC of behaviour)

Answer 16

• response

Question 17

what is the operant?

Answer 17

precise aspect of the response that causes the consequence (ask to clean room (antecedent), CLEAN ROOM (operant/behaviour), gets a lolly (consequence))

Question 18

what is a consequence? (ABC of behaviour)

Answer 18

• reward/punishment
• operant can cause or inhibit an event (consequence)

Question 19

what does knowing the causes of behaviour help us to do?

Answer 19

• change our own behaviour
• change others’ behaviour
• recognise when someone is trying to change our behaviour