BOHA - 15 Flashcards
when interpreting an animals behaviour what are the 4 rules you must follow?
1) be critical - start simple
2) Consider past experience - conclusions about 3) intelligence are meaningless otherwise
3) Animals aren’t people
4) Confounding factors - other reasons that are causing the animal to behave the way it is that wasn’t considered in the experiment
is learning a proximate or ultimate behaviour?
proximate - development process
what is the definition of development of behaviour?
an interaction between genes and the environment
- some could be more genetic others more environmental
what are the 4 different types of taxes (response to a stimulus)?
1) chemotaxis
2) Phototaxis
3) Hydrotaxis
4) Magnetotaxis
what is positive and negative taxis?
positive = moving towards stimulus negative = moving away from stimulus
what are the 4 categories that mean behaviour can be considered as under tight genetic control and not learned?
1) species- specific
2) Inflexible
3) Predictable
4) Constant timing
what are fixed actions patterns and what are they caused by?
long sequences of behaviour caused by sign stimuli / releasers
what is Thorpes definition of learning?
that process which manifests itself by adaptive changes in individual behaviour as a result of experience
what are the 2 types of non associative learning?
1) habituation - repeated exposure decreases response
2) Sensitisation - repeated exposure increases response
what are the 2 types of associative learning?
1) classical conditioning - organism pairs two external stimuli - responds to previously ‘uninteresting’ stimulus e.g. a dog linking food with the sound of a bell
2) Operant conditioning - consequence own actions e.g. learning to play an instrument
what are the 4 types of operant conditioning?
1) positive reinforcement - rat is rewarded for pressing the lever
2) Negative reinforcement - presses lever to avoid getting electric shock
3) Punishment - press the lever and get an electric shock
4) Extinction - nothing happens when lever is pressed so the animal stops pressing it
what 2 things did John Watson describe ‘behaviourism’ as?
1) observable
2) mind unnecessary
what is observational learning?
learning that is influenced by the presence or actions of other individuals
what are the 4 types of observational learning?
1) facilitation - presence of another individual increases motivation
2) Enhancement - presence of another individual draws attention to an area or object - making them likely to solve the problem themselves
3) Imitation - observer copies the same sequence of actions as demonstrated
4) Emulation - actor reaches same end results as demonstrator but actions to get there may be different
what is insightful problem solving?
immediate understanding of how to solve problem without trial and error or accidental discovery
