Chapter 12 - Animal Behavior Flashcards
reflexes are
simple, automatic responses to simple stimuli
reflexes respond to
simple stimuli
definition of reflex
reliable occurences of particular behavioral responses following a given environmental stimulus
simple reflex is controlled at the
spinal cord
the spinal cord connects a two-neuron pathway from the ____ to the ____
receptor to the motor
the receptor is the
afferent neuron
the motor is the
efferent neuron
the efferent nerve innervates the
effector (muscle or gland)
effector
muscle or gland
reflex behavior is important in the behavioral response of
lower animals
reflex behavior is less important in the behavioral response of
higher animals (vertebrates)
sensory neuron —> interneuron —> motor neuron
contained in the spinal cord
the spinal cord connects a two-neuron pathway from the
receptor (afferent neuron) to the motor (efferent neuron)
receptor cell –> sensory neuron –> interneuron (spinal cord) —> motor neuron –> effector (muscle)
more complex reflex patterns involve
neural integration at a higher level
neural at a higher integration involves the
brainstem or cerebrum
startle response
alerts an animal to a significant stimulus
startle response occurs in response to
potential danger
hearing one’s name called
startle response involves interaction of
many neurons - reticular activating system
reticular activating system
area of the brain responsible for regulating arousal and sleep-wake transitions.
fixed-action patterns
complex, coordinated, innate behavioral responses to specific patterns of stimulation in the environment
releaser
stimulus that elicits fixed action patterns
fixed action patterns are
innate
because fixed action patterns are innate, they are unlikely to be
modified by learning
an animal has a repertoire for of
fixed-action patterns
an animal has ____ for learning new fixed action patterns
limited ability
the particular stimuli that trigger fixed-action pattern are _____ readily modified
more
if stimulus for fixed action patterns are modified, _____ of the stimuli must be maintained
certain cues;
elements
example of fixed action patterns - birds
retrieval and maintenance response of many female birds to an egg
certain kinds of stimuli are more effective than others in
triggering a fixed action pattern
example of fixed action pattern (egg)
egg with characteristics of that species will be more effective than one which crudely resembles the natural egg
example of fixed action pattern (motion)
characteristic movements made by animals that herd or flock together
e.g. swimming of fish
flying of locusts
circadian rhythms
daily cycles of behavior
animals with circadian rhythms lose their exact 24-hour periodicity if
they are isolated from natural phases of light and dark
even if animals lose their exact 24-hour periodicity, cyclical behavior will
continue with appx day to day phasing
because the cycle continues with appx day to day phasing, it is thus initiated
intrinsically
the circadian rhythm is initiated intrinsically but modified by
external factors
a good example of internal and external control are
daily cycles of eating
internal controls
natural bodily rhythms of eating and satiation
external controls
elements of environment that occur in familiar cyclic patterns
e.g. dinner bells, clocks
examples of cyclic behavior
sleep and wakefulness
sleep and wakefulness associated with
particular patterns of brain waves
periodic environmental stimuli establish and maintain
patterns of behavior
example of periodic environmental stimuli
traffic light signals
environmental stimuli influence many
naturally occurring biological rhythms
biological factors influence
behavior governed by periodic environmental stimuli
learned behavior involves ______ to the environment
adaptive responses
learning occurs to some extent in all
animals
instinctual or innate behaviors are the predominant determinants of behavior patterns in
lower animals
learning plays a ______ role in the modification of innate/instinctual behavior or lower animals
relatively low
the major share of response to the environment is _____ in higher animals
learned
the capacity for learning adaptive responses is closely correlated with the degree of
neurological development
neurological development
capacity of the nervous system for flexibility - particularly cerebral cortex
habituation is one of the _____ learning patterns
simplest
habituation involves
suppression of normal startle responses to stimuli
repeated stimulation will result in
decreased responsiveness to that stimulus
normal autonomic response to that stimulus would serve no useful purpose when
the stimulus becomes a part of the background environment
since normal autonomic response to stimulus would serve no useful purpose when stimulus becomes part of environment, response to stimulus is
suppressed
if stimulus is no longer regularly applied, response tends to
recover over time
spontaneous recovery
if stimulus is no longer regularly applied, the response tends to recover over time
recovery of response may also occur with
modification of stimulus
classical conditioning is aka
pavlovian
classical conditioning
association of a normally autonomic or visceral response with environmental stimulus
response learned through pavlovian conditioning sometimes called a
conditioned reflex
normal innate stimulus for a reflex is replaced by
pavlovian
chosen one (by experimenter)
example of pavlov's work step 1 (before conditioning)
unconditioned stimulus: food
unconditioned response: salivation
example of pavlov's work step 2 (before conditioning)
neutral stimulus: tuning fork
no conditioned response: no salivation
example of pavlov's work step 3 (during conditioning)
tuning + fork
unconditioned response: salivation
example of pavlov's work step 4 (after conditioning)
conditioned stimulus: tuning fork
conditioned response: salivation
pavlov won a nobel prize for his work on
digestive physiology
pavlov studied
salivation reflex in dogs
pavlov discovered (1927) that if a dog was presented with an arbitrary stimulus (e.g. bell) and then presented with food, it would eventually
salivate upon hearing the bell alone
the food elicited an
unconditioned response of salivation
after repeated association of the bell with food, the bell alone could
elicit the salivation reflex
the innate or unconditioned response would occur with the
selected stimulus
unconditioned stimulus (US)
established (innate) reflex
e.g. food for salivation
unconditioned response (UR)
response that is naturally elicited
e.g. salivation
neutral stimulus
stimulus that will not by itself elicit response (prior to conditioning)
during conditioning, the neutral stimulus (e.g. the bell) is presented with the
unconditioned stimulus
food
after conditioning, the neutral stimulus is able to
elicit the response in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus
once the neutral stimulus is able to elicit the response of the unconditioned stimulus, it is called the
conditioned stimulus
pavlov’s example of the conditioned stimulus is the
sound of the bell for salivation
conditioned reflex
product of the conditioning experience
the conditioned reflex (response) in pavlov’s experiment was
salivation
after conditioning, the previously neutral stimulus is now the
conditioned stimulus
conditioning
Pavlov’s definition
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
reflex
association of stimulus with response
pseudoconditioning
when “neutral” stimulus is able to elicit response before conditioning - not really neutral
critical test of conditioning is determination of whether the conditioning process is
necessary for the production of a response by a previously “neutral” stimulus
pseudoconditioning can be avoided by
carefully avoiding all prospective stimuli before conditioning begins
operant or instrumental conditioning involves
conditioning responses to stimuli with use of reward or reinforcement
when organisms exhibits specific behavioral pattern which experimenter would like to see repeated, the animal is
rewarded
the reinforcement or reward increases the likelihood that the behavior will
appear
reinforcement or reward _____ behavior
reinforces
instrumental conditioning was originally applied to conditioning responses under the _____ control of the organisms
voluntary
in addition applying instrumental conditioning to condition responses under the voluntary control of the organism, it has been successfully applied to conditioning of
visceral responses
example of visceral response
changes in heartbeat
B.F. Skinner
first demonstrated principles of operant conditioning
Skinner box
original operant conditioning experiment
animal was placed in cage with lever/key and a food dispenser
a food pellet was delivered whenever the animal pressed the lever
two categories of reinforcement
positive
negative
positive reinforcement (reward)
providing food, light, electrical stimulation of the animal’s brain “pleasure centers”
following positive reinforcement, the animal was much more likely to
repeat desired behavioral response
i.e. press the bar
in positive reinforcement, animal has developed a
positive connection between the action (response) and the reward (stimulus which followed)
positive reinforcement is likely to be involved in normal ______ formation
habit
negative reinforcement involves stimulating the
brain’s pleasure centers
negative reinforcement links the _____ of certain behavior with _____
lack;
reward
e.g negative reinforcement (bird)
bird will receive food pellet if it _______ on a yellow circle in its cage
does not peck
in negative reinforcement, animal has developed a _____ connection between the action (response) and the reward (stimulus that followed)
negative
in operant (instrumental) conditioning, the action is the
response
in operant conditioning, the reward is the
stimulus that follows
in negative conditioning, the animal has developed a positive connection between the ____ of the action and the reward
lack
as a result of negative reinforcement (operant conditioning), the animal is ____ likely to repeat the behavioral response
less
punishment
operant conditioning
conditioning an organisms so that it will stop exhibiting a given behavior pattern
punishment may involve painfully shocking the organisms each time
the behavior appears
after punishment, the organism is ____ likely to repeat the behavioral response
less
the animal develops a _____ connection between the stimulus and the response
negative
habit family hierarchy
stimulus usually associated with several possible responses
each response associated with a stimulus has a ______ probability of occurrence
different
a chicken may respond to light in many ways, but if one particular response is rewarded it will occur with ____ probability in the future
higher
reward _____ behavior
strengthens
a reward strengthens behavior response and _____ its order in the hierarchy
(habit family hierarchy)
raises
punishment _____ specific behavior and ____ its order in the hierarchy
weakens;
lowers
extinction
modifications of conditioned behavior
gradual elimination of conditioned responses in the absence of reinforcement
i.e. the “unlearning” of response pattern
in instrumental and operant conditioning, extinction occurs in the absence of
(conditioned behavior - operant)
reinforcement
extinction is the unlearning of
all conditioned behavior
response pattern
