Ch. 3

Question 1

Elicited behaviour

Answer 1

• behaviour that is drawn out or triggered by a stimulus
• ex. sneezing after snorting pepper
• happen automatically after the stimulus
• not learned/the result of experience

Question 2

Reflexes

Answer 2

• pattern of movement of a part of the body that can be reliably caused by presenting the appropriate stimulus
• due to innate connection between stimulus-response
• we get this through our DNA
• simple
• fast activity within the nervous system

Question 3

Startle response

Answer 3

• defensive reaction to a sudden, unexpected stimulus

Question 4

Orienting response

Answer 4

• we automatically position ourselves to facilitate attending to a stimulus
• can involve large body movements (ex. turning around at the sound of a gun)

Question 5

Flexion response

Answer 5

• when we automatically jerk our hand or foot away from a hot or sharp object that we have come into contact with

Question 6

Reflex arc (what is it)

Answer 6

• impulses (info about sensory stimulus) carried along a pathway that are able to bypass the brain
• happens without input from the brain
• eventually makes it to the brain which is when we become conscious about what we just did

Question 7

Reflex arc (how does it work)

Answer 7

1. sensory receptors carry the message (touched something hot) via nerve impulses toward spinal cord
2. interneurons in spinal cord receive the message and send it straight to the motor neurons (bypassing the brain)
3. the motor neurons activate the muscles that pull us away from danger
4. while that is happening, the pain message gets sent to the brain

Question 8

fixed action pattern

Answer 8

• a fixed sequence of responses elicited by a specific stimulus
• ex. cats repeatedly kicking up the ground after they shit or a dog sticking it’s butt in the air and lowering it’s head when it wants to play
• more complex than a simple reflex

Question 9

Sign stimulus or releaser

Answer 9

• a specific stimulus that elicits a fixed action pattern
• ex. animal preparing (ready position - fixed action pattern) to fight when it sees it’s predator (stimulus)
• usually specific to different species and are sometimes referred to as instincts

Question 10

Habituation

Answer 10

• decrease in the strength of a response after repeated presentation of a stimulus that provokes the elicited response
• learning to stop responding to something
• we quickly stop attending to low-intensity stimuli
• can happen fast or slow
• habituation can go back to normal if exposure isn’t continued

Question 11

Sensitization

Answer 11

• increase in the strength of an elicited response following repeated presentations of the stimulus that naturally elicits that response
• ex. soldiers don’t habituate to the sounds of gunshots - instead, their startle reaction grows stronger

Question 12

Dishabituation

Answer 12

• habituated responses can reappear following the presentation of another, seemingly irrelevant novel stimulus
• ex. habituate to the sounds of shots at a firing range but then a stranger walks up and stands beside them and they are startled again the next time a gunshot fires

Question 13

which levels of stimulus intensity lead to habituation and which lead to sensitization?

Answer 13

low intensity (often insignificant) = habituation
high intensity (often significant) = sensitization
moderate intensity = period of sensitization followed by habituation

Question 14

how is habituation vs. sensitization an evolutionary advantage?

Answer 14

• we can categorize stimuli into irrelevant (habituate)(safe) or relevant (sensitize)(possible danger)

Question 15

Opponent-process theory of emotion

Answer 15

• proposes that an emotional event elicits 2 competing processes: a-process (primary process) elicited by the event and b-process (opponent process) elicited by a
• ex. feeling euphoric (b-process) after a terrible accident is your body’s way of distracting you from the pain (a-process) and returning you to homeostasis

Question 16

opponent-process theory of emotion

a-process

Answer 16

• immediate
• if experienced as unpleasant (ex. not winning as much from the lottery), b-process will be pleasant (ex. being happy for the amount you did win)
• if pleasant - b is unpleasant

Question 17

opponent-process theory of emotion

b-process

Answer 17

• slow to increase and decrease
• not as strong as a-process at first
• with repeated presentations of the emotional event, b-process increases in both strength and duration

Question 18

Nonassociative learning examples

Answer 18

• sensitization
• habituation
• opponent process
• do not involve associating different stimuli

Question 19

Associative learning

Answer 19

• ability to relate one event to another
• increases chances of survival
• allows us to anticipate the future

Question 20

Classical conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning, respondent conditioning)

Answer 20

• stimulus comes to elicit a response because it has been paired (or associated) with another stimulus
• the presentation of 2 or more events in a pre-determined order
• a change in responding to one of those events is measured as an indication of whether an association has been learned between them

Question 21

Unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 21

• the neutral/reflexive response that is caused by a US
• innate, unlearned
• doesn’t require prior training (conditioning)
• ex. salvation at the sight of food

Question 22

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 22

• stimulus that naturally causes the response that’s being measured/observed
• ex. food

Question 23

Conditioned response (CR)

Answer 23

• same behaviour as the UR (ex. salvation) but now it is caused by the CS
• learned response
• ex. saliva to bell

Question 24

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 24

• a neutral stimulus that has no natural association with the US
• something that doesn’t naturally have the desired response but that will be trained to

Question 25

Conditioning trial

Answer 25

- trial in CC experiment

Question 26

Appetitive conditioning

Answer 26

- US is something pleasant - something the organism seeks out - ex. food, water, sex

Question 27

Aversive conditioning

Answer 27

- the US is unpleasant - something the organism avoids

Question 28

Excitatory conditioning (CS+)

Answer 28

- CS becomes associated with the occurrence of the US - CS regularly causes UR

Question 29

Inhibitory conditioning (CS-)

Answer 29

- ex. vicious dog always bites you except when it's owner is present - conditioning where the CS becomes associated with the absence of the US - CS prevents the occurrence of the CR or reduces/suppresses the strength of the CR - certain type of response is less likely to occur when the CS is present

Question 30

Temporal conditioning

Answer 30

- classical conditioning where CS = passage of time

Question 31

# temporal conditioning forward/short-delay conditioning

Answer 31

- CS presented before US

Question 32

# temporal conditioning Trace conditioning

Answer 32

- CS presented before US with a pause in between

Question 33

# temporal conditioning Simultaneous conditioning

Answer 33

- CS and US are presented at the same time - sometimes effective - closes possible contiguity

Question 34

# temporal conditioning Backward conditioning

Answer 34

- US presented before CS - not very effective

Question 35

Pseudoconditioning

Answer 35

- what appears to be a CR is really just a heightened sensitivity to the CS - ex. when you're already feeling anxious you may be startled by more things than you usually would - "pseudo" = fake