Biological Dispositions in Learning

Question 1

What is preparedness?

Answer 1

innate tendency to more easily learn certain types of behaviour

Question 2

What is taste aversion conditioning?

Answer 2

food item that has been paired with illness becomes conditioned aversive stimulus

Question 3

How is taste aversion conditioning different from other forms of CC?

Answer 3

formation of associations after long delays, one trial conditioning, specificity of associations

Question 4

What is latent inhibition?

Answer 4

more likely to associate a relatively novel item with sickness than a familiar one

Question 5

What is overshadowing?

Answer 5

more likely to develop aversion to stronger tasting food item than milder tasting food

Question 6

Rats will more readily learn to __ than __

Answer 6

press lever to obtain food, avoid shock

Question 7

What did Bolles study which looked at biological predispositions for avoidance responces

Answer 7

Species specific defence reactions

Question 8

What is instinctive drift?

Answer 8

an instance of classical conditioning in which a genetically based, fixed action pattern gradually emerges and displaces the behaviour that is being operantly conditioned (interferes)

Question 9

What is sign tracking?

Answer 9

an organism approaches a stimulus that signals the presentation of an appetitive event

Question 10

What is autoshaping?

Answer 10

type of sign tracking in which a pigeon comes to automatically peck at a key because the key light has been associated with contingent delivery of food

Question 11

What is negative automaintenance?

Answer 11

sign tracking persists despite the resultant loss of a reinforcer

Question 12

What is adjunctive behaviour?

Answer 12

excessive pattern of behaviour that emerges as a bi-product of an intermittent schedule of reinforcement for some other behaviour (or schedule induced behaviour)

Question 13

What reinforcement schedules are commonly used when developing adjunctive behaviours?

Answer 13

fixed interval or fixed time

Question 14

Adjunctive behaviour is affected by levels of deprivation. __ deprivation, __ adjunctive behaviour is as a bi-product

Answer 14

greater, stronger

Question 15

What is the optimal interval time between reinforcers for the development of adjunctive behaviours

Answer 15

1-3 minutes

Question 16

When do adjunctive behaviours usually occur?

Answer 16

In the period immediately after an intermittent reinforcer is consumed (interreinforcement intervals)

Question 17

What is a displacement activity?

Answer 17

an apparently irrelevant activity sometimes displayed by animals when confronted by conflict of thwarted from attaining a goal

Question 18

What is good about displacement activity?`

Answer 18

provides more diversified range of behaviours in particular setting, help animals remain in situation where a significant reinforcer may actually become available

Question 19

What is activity anorexia?

Answer 19

an abnormally high level of activity and low level of food intake generated by exposure to a time restricted schedule of feeding

Question 20

In activity anorexia, which behaviour is considered the adjunctive behaviour?

Answer 20

exercise/physical activity

Question 21

What are two underlying mechanisms believed to be involved with activity anorexia

Answer 21

addiction to endorphin high, survival value (food supply)

Question 22

What is the behaviour Systems theory?

Answer 22

an animal’s behaviour is organised into certain innate systems, with each system becoming activated in relevant situations (3 systems - general, focused, handle/consumption