2. Animal Experience, Learning, and Development

Question 1

What do ontogeny studies focus on?

Answer 1

The development of a behaviour in an individual over time
- longitudinal: following individuals through their life to look at behaviours during dif phases of development
- cross-sectional: take a lot of individuals at a particular age, then another group of individuals at a dif age

Question 1

What is an experience?

Answer 1

An experience is a change in the brain that results from the information acquired from outside the brain
- experiences can be brief, while others are very long lasting
- some experiences are a consequence of changes due to hormone levels, or the physical or chemical environment of the brain
- other experiences are the result of sensory input
- input to the brain is usually mediated by some change outside the body however, sometimes its a result from physiological changes that are entirely internal

Question 2

What is learning?

Answer 2

Learning is a change in the brain, which results in behaviour being modified for longer than a few seconds, as a consequence of information from outside the brain
- when learning occurs, an experience of some kind has led to a CHANGE in behaviour (big difference btw an experience and learning)

Question 3

Notice that “a few seconds” occurs in the definition of learning. What does this exclude for?

Answer 3

Simple responses, such as reflexes

Question 4

Brain mechanisms of learning include very complex processes in which there is awareness of what 3 things?

Answer 4

1. What is occurring
2. What has occurred
3. What is likely to occur

Question 5

Many event in the environment of an animal do not lead to any change in future behaviour as some events are not detected by the animal. Why might these events not reach the decision making centers?

Answer 5

As a consequence of sensory-filtering mechanisms
- Peripheral filtering
- Central filtering

Question 6

What is habituation?

Answer 6

Habituation is the waning of a response to a repeated stimulus
- habituation is an adaptive process as it saves energy that would be wasted on repeated response to a trivial stimulus

Question 7

What 4 things does the likelihood of habituation and its rate depend on?

Answer 7

1. The nature of the stimulus
2. Its rate
3. Its regularity
4. The state of the animal

*Whether the repetition is very frequent or as infrequent as once a day, habituation can still occur

Question 8

Flooding

Answer 8

• Flooding is related to habituation, as the goal is the same (to cease to elicit a startle response from an animal) but the intensity and frequency of the stimulus is amped up to over-stimulate the animal so that it ceases to try to react
• occurs through a process of “learned helplessness”

Question 9

Sensitization

Answer 9

The increasing of a response to a repeated stimulus
- can be advantageous such as when sensitizing to a stimulus

Question 10

3 examples of experimental learning in domestic animals

Answer 10

1. Classical conditioning
   - An animal learns to show an existing response to a new stimulus
2. Operant conditioning
   - The animal learns to perform an “operant” response in order to obtain a reward or avoid an aversive experience
3. Maze learning
   - The animal learns to take a particular path in order to obtain a reward

Question 11

Operant reinforcement of behaviour

Answer 11

1. Positive Reinforcement
   - increases the likelihood of a response
   - addition of a pleasant stimulus to increase a behaviour
2. Negative Reinforcement
   - also increases the likelihood of a response
   - removal of an aversive stimulus to increase a behaviour

Question 12

Examples of learning in food animals

Answer 12

1. navigating their environment
2. distinguishing the qualities of a food item
3. returning to food sources
4. avoiding physical dangers
5. minimizing predation risk
6. discriminating individual animals
7. identifying handlers

Question 13

What are 2 challenges for a young developing animal?

Answer 13

1. How to survive during the first period of life when it’s very vulnerable to predation, physical conditions, and the risk of not obtaining adequate nutrients
2. How to change in such a way that it becomes an effective adult

*Very high selection pressure promoting efficient survival mechanisms during this time of development

Question 14

Precocial vs. Altricial

Answer 14

Animals that are well developed when they are born or when they hatch are precocial, whereas those that are helpless are altricial
- there is a continuum btw the two extremes
- most livestock are precocial

Question 15

After birth or hatching, the development of sensory systems is affected by what?

Answer 15

Experience
- aka additional stimulation that needs to occur in enviro at particular milestones for development
- such developmental changes will affect all aspect of behaviour as will the development of the ability to make certainmovements