Animal Behavior Flashcards
Reflexes
automatic responses to simple stimuli and are recognized as reliable behavioral responses following a given environmental stimulus
Simple Reflex
- controlled at the spinal cord, connecting a two-neuron pathway from the receptor (afferent neuron) to the motor neuron
- sensory neuron > interneuron > motor neuron
Efferent Nerve
innervates the effector
startle response
- alerts an animal to a significant stimulus
- can occur in response to potential danger or to hearing one’s name called
- involves the integration of many neurons in a system termed the reticular activating system
reticular activating system
responsible for sleep-wake transitions and behavioral motivation
releaser
the stimulus that elicits the behavior
Circadian rhythms
- daily cycles of behavior
- can lose their exact 24hr periodicity if they are isolated from the natural phases of light and dark
habituation
repeated stimulation results in decreased responsiveness to that stimulus
Spontaneous Recovery
if the stimulus is no longer regularly applied, the response tends to recover over time
Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning
involves the association of a normally autonomic or visceral response with an environmental stimulus
Neutral Stimulus
a stimulus that will not by itself elicit the response
Conditioned Stimulus
when the neutral stimulus is able to elicit the response in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned Reflex
the product of the conditioning experience
Conditioning
the establishment of a new reflex by the addition of a new , previously neutral stimulus to the set of stimuli that are already capable of triggering the response
Pseudoconditioning
a phenomenon that can be confused with true classical conditioning
Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
involves conditioning responses to stimuli with the use of reward or reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement/Reward
includes providing, food, light, or electrical stimulation of the animal’s brain “pleasure centers”
Negative Reinforcement
involves stimulating the brain’s pleasure centers
Punishment
involves conditioning an organism so that it will stop exhibiting a given behavior pattern
Habit Family Hierarchy
a stimulus is usually associated with several possible responses, each response having a different probability of occurrence
Extinction
the gradual elimination of conditioned responses in the absence of reinforcement
Instrumental/Operant Conditioning [extinction]
the response is diminished and finally eliminated in the absence of reinforcement
Classical Conditioning [extinction]
extinction occurs when the unconditioned stimulus is removed or was never sufficiently paired with the conditioned stimulus
Spontaneous Recovery [extinction]
the recovery of the conditioned response after extinction
Stimulus Generalization
the ability of a conditioned organism to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to the original conditioned stimulus
Stimulus Discrimination
involves the ability of the learning organism to respond differentially to slightly different stimuli
Stimulus Generalization Gradient
established after the organism has been conditioned, whereby stimuli further and further away from the original conditioned stimulus elicit responses with decreasing magnitude
Imprinting
a process in which environmental patterns or objects presented to a developing organism during a brief critical period in early life become accepted permanently as an element of its behavioral environment
Critical Period
specific time periods during an animal’s early development when it is physiologically able to develop specific behavioral patterns
Reproductive displays
specific behavior found in all animals, including humans
Agonistic Displays
such things as a dog’s display of appeasement when it wags its tail or the dog’s antagonistic behavior when it directs its face straight and raises its body
Pecking Order
the social hierarchy - minimizes violent intraspecific aggressions by defining stable relationships among members of the group
Territoriality
serves the adaptive functions of distributing members of the species, so the environmental resources are not depleted in a small region, and reducing intraspecifc competition
Releaser Pheromones
trigger a reversible behavioral change in the recipient
Primer Pheromones
produce long-term behavioral and physiological alterations in receiving animals
