Causation and Development Flashcards
Neuroendocrine Response
- triggered by nervous system (ie. CNS/PNS/ANS) stimuli) or endocrine system stimuli
Experiential Learning
- triggered by learned/cognitive/heightening or waning of innate response
- over organism’s lifetime
- KOLB (1984):
CONCRETE EVIDENCE
REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION
ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALISATION
ACTIVE CONCEPTUALISATION
Behaviour Definition
- “… all observable processes by which an animal responds to perceived changes in the internal state of its body or in the external world…”
Factors Affecting Behaviour
- INTERNAL
- EXTERNAL (ABIOTIC/BIOTIC)
- CONTEXT DEPENDANT
- ERRORS
FAB: Internal
BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS:
- daily schedules reset via zeitgebers (“time givers”)
- annual movements in tune w/seasonal change
- circadian rhythms (24 hour cycle)
MOTIVATIONS (HOMEOSTATIC/NON-HOMEOSTATIC):
- alterations/cues from the physiological state
FAB: Internal (Examples)
DEER ANTLERS:
- hard in winter/autumn (rut); dead bone; eventually shed; sharp tines for fighting.
- soft in summer/spring (pre-rut); covered in velvet (vascularised skin); living tissue from base (pedicle)
FAB-I: Homeostasis
- BERNARD (1813-1878); “milieu interieur”
- CANNON (1932); important regulatory role over behaviour (ie. hunger/thirst/temp regulation)
- normal homeostasis may be over-ridden if changes in beh increase fitness
FAB: External
BIOTIC: - population density - sex ratio ABIOTIC: - light/temp/tide/habitat features
FAB-E: Population Density
DESERT LOCUST:
- can have SPARSE interactions as eggs, leading to solitary locusts; longer/cryptic/sensitive to physical touch
- can have DENSE interactions as eggs, leading to gregarious locusts; shorter/conspicuous/swarming pheromones
FAB-E: Abiotic
INDIGO BUNTING MIGRATION:
- migration patterns are affected by the stars and climates in regions (ie. southern Mexico for winter only; migratory in the south USA; summer only is NE/NW USA)
FAB: Context Dependant
- alterations of reaction to stimuli over time
- animal can differentiate between stimuli for most appropriate response; saves energy/increases survival
FAB: Errors
- misconception/misidentification of stimuli (ie. hatchling turtles going the wrong way to the sea; swans on motorways along migration mistaking them for rivers)
EL: Reasoning
PERMITS:
- spread of behaviour faster than inheritance
- horizontal/vertical behaviour transmission
- common behaviours to alter in rapidly changing environment
- copying of errors (negative)
EL: Types
- decrease in effect of genes/increase in effect of environment going down INNATE BEHAVIOUR MATURATION CHANCE SELF-LEARNING LEARNING FROM OTHERS INSIGHT LEARNING
EL-T: Innate Behaviour
- LORENZ (1931); behaviour in species context (rather than lab-based approach of comparative USA psych movement); ie. imprinting work w/geese (aka. FIXED ACTION PATTERN)
EL-T-IB: Fixed Action Pattern
- instinctual behaviour sequence highly stereotyped/species specific
- most likely produced via innate releasing mechanism (aka. releaser); once released, MUST run completion (ie. imprinting)
- Lorenz’s characteristics involve:
STEREOTYPED
COMPLEX
RELEASED
TRIGGERED
INDEPENDANT OF EXPERIENCE
FAP: Innate Releasing Mechanism
- sign stimulus/”releaser” = essential cues for FAP (ie. presence of characteristic/behaviour)
- supernormal stimulus = elicits exaggerated response
EL-T: Maturation
- behaviours change/express at predictable stages of organism’s age; full behavioural repertoire developed to enhance fitness of adult
- facilitated learning hypothesis; helping a species leads to negative effects in helper
EL-T: Maturation (Example)
SATIN BOWERBIRD:
- gonads develop; circulating testosterone rises; plumage changes; bower building starts
- doesn’t work if testosterone is experimental; leads to overall poor bower quality
EL-T: Chance
- behaviour determined by single environmental event experienced at crucial life stage (ie. temp/diet)
CROCODILES/LIZARDS/TURTLE OFFSPRING: - male offspring associated w/temp of nest; some lizards/crocodiles have more in heat; lizards/crocodiles/turtles have more in mid-temp; turtles have more in cold
EL-T: Self-learning
- behaviour changes as individual personally repeats; actions modified in response to outcomes
- includes:
IMPRINTING
CONDITIONING
HABITUATION
DISCRIMINATIVE LEARNING
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING
EL-T-SL: Imprinting
GREAT TIT CHICKS:
- cross-fostering; when raised by great tits, adult females preferred great tit song; when raised by blue tits, adults females preferred blue tit song
EL-T-SL: Conditioning
THORNDIKE (1905)
- puzzle box key in “Law of Effect” (aka. any rewarded beh likely to repeat; any punished beh likely to decrease)
SKINNER (1931)
- insight in time taken to solve problem
EL-T-SL: Habituation
- decreased behaviour due to continuous presentation of stimuli w/no reinforcement; eliminates unnecessary behaviour
- JENNINGS (1902/1904); worked on waning responses to innocuous stimuli in amoeba/stentor worms
- HUMPHREY (1933); habitation/dishabituation in snails
EL-T-SL: Discriminative Learning
- learning different responses pair w/different stimuli
- ie. SPENCE (1937) reviewed by PEARCE et al. (2008); discriminating learning in pigeons
EL-T-SL: Associative Learning
- classical conditioning; elicitation of response to previously neutral stimulus
- PAVLOV (1901); “conditioned reflex” of dogs being conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell that sounded when they were being fed.
EL-T: Learning from Others
- behaviour learnt via observing actions of others
- THORNTON; teaching identification of food in young meerkats (ie. scorpions VS eggs)
EL-T: Insight Learning
- flash of inspiration/eureka; highest form of learning
- KOHLER (1927) studies w/monkeys
