Chapter 19 - Animal Behaviour

Question 1

What is a reflex?

Answer 1

Automatic response to simple stimuli and are recognized as reliable behavioural responses following a given environmental stimulus

Question 2

How is a simple reflex controlled?

Answer 2

Controlled at the spinal cord which connects a 2 neutron pathway from the receptor (afferent) to motor (efferent) neuron

Question 3

What does the efferent neutron innervate?

Answer 3

Effector (ex. gland or muscle)

Question 4

How is a complex reflex controlled? How is the reticular activating system involved with it?

Answer 4

Controlled by the brainstem or even cerebrum

- Involved because it integrates many neurons which is responsible for sleep-wake transitions and behavioural motivation

Question 5

What is a fixed-action pattern? What is a stimulus that elicits this behaviour? Can this pattern be modified?

Answer 5

A complex, coordinated, innate behavioural response to specific patterns of stimulation in the environment

• Releaser
• Cannot be modified by learning because they are innate; limited ability to develop new ones

Question 6

What is circadian rhythm? Can you lose this rhythm? How is this cycle initiated?

Answer 6

Daily cycles of behaviour

• Yes, if isolated from natural light/dark phases
• Intrinsically by modified by external factors

Question 7

What are environmental rhythms?

Answer 7

Patterns of behaviour that can be established/maintained by periodic environmental stimuli

Question 8

What does learned behaviour involve? What is learning adaptive responses correlated to/

Answer 8

Adaptive responses to the environment

- Degree of neurologic development

Question 9

What is habituation? How does it work? What happens if the stimulus is no longer applied?

Answer 9

Simplest learning patterns involving the suppression of the normal start response to stimuli

• Repeated stimulation results in decreased responsiveness to that stimulus, therefore the normal autonomic response would serve no useful purpose since the stimulus becomes part of the background environment (suppressed)
• No longer applied = response recovers over time (spontaneous recovery) or via modification of the stimulus

Question 10

What is classical conditioning (Pavlov)? How does it work?

Answer 10

Involves association of normally autonomic response with an environmental stimulus (i.e. conditioned response)
- The normal innate stimulus is replaced by one chosen in the experiment

Question 11

Describe Pavlovs terminology:

Answer 11

• An established (innate) response consists of an unconditioned stimulus and the response that is naturally elicited (unconditioned response)
• Neutral stimulus does not elicit the response is presented with the unconditioned stimulus and eventually the neutral stimulus can elicit the response in absence of unconditioned stimulus; now called the conditioned stimulus
• Product of this is called the conditioned effect
• Conditioning is the establishment of a new reflex by the addition of new, previously neutral stimulus to the set of stimulus that are already capable of triggering a response

Question 12

What is pseudo-conditioning? Why is it a problem? How can it be avoided?

Answer 12

May be confused with true classical conditioning

• Critical test of conditioning is the determination of whether the condition process is actually necessary for the production of a response by a preciously neutral stimulus
• In many cases, the neutral stimulus is able to elicit a response before conditioning and hence, is not a real neutral stimulus
• This can be avoided by evaluating prospective stimulus before conditioning begins

Question 13

What is operant or instrumental conditioning?

Answer 13

Involves conditioning responses to stimuli with the use of reward or reinforcement

• When the organism exhibits a specific behavioural pattern that the experimenter would like repeated, the animal is rewarded
• This increases likelihood of it occurring again (reinforced)

Question 14

What is positive and negative reinforcement? What is punishment?

Answer 14

Positive reinforcement: Providing a reward for for specific behaviour; more likely to repeat action

Negative reinforcement: Developing a positive connection between the lack of action and reward; less likely to repeat action

Punishment: Providing negative conditioning such as pain so the organism will stop exhibiting a behaviour; negative connection between stimulus and response

Question 15

What is the habit family hierarchy?

Answer 15

A stimulus that is usually associated with several possible responses, each response having a different probability of occurrence

• Reward strengthens specific behaviour responses and raises order in the hierarchy
• Punishment weakens specific behaviour response and lowers order in the hierarchy

Question 16

In relation to modifications of conditioned behaviour, what is extinction? Operant vs. Classical

Answer 16

Extinction: Gradual elimination of conditioned response in the absence of reinforcement

• Operant = Response is diminished/eliminated with absence of reinforcement but can reappear with reinforcement
• Classical = Response is removed when unconditioned stimulus is removed or was never really there; may be spontaneously recovered

Question 17

In relation to medications of conditioned behaviour, what is generalization and discrimination? What is the stimulus generation gradient?

Answer 17

Stimulus generalization: Ability of a conditioned organism to response to stimuli that are similar but not identical to original stimulus
- Less similar = less response

Stimulus discrimination: Ability of the learning organism to response differentially to slightly different stimulus

Stimulus generalization gradient: Established after organism has been conditioned, whereby stimulus further and further away from original conditioned stimulus elicit responses with decreasing magnitude

Question 18

What is imprinting?

Answer 18

A process in which environmental patterns or objects presented to a developing organism during a brief critical period early in life become accepted permanently as an element of its behavioural environment
- Ex. Duckling learns first moving object is their mother

Question 19

Can objects be substituting for imprinting?

Answer 19

• Yes

Question 20

What is the critical period during imprinting? What happens if it is not present? What is visual critical period?

Answer 20

Specific time periods during an animals early development when it is physiologically able to develop specific behavioural patterns

• Not present = behavioural pattern will not develop properly
• If light is not present = visual effectors will not develop properly

Question 21

What is intra-specific interaction?

Answer 21

Occur as a means of communication between members of a species

Question 22

What are behavioural displays?

Answer 22

Can be defined as innate behaviour that has evolved as a signal for communication between members of the sam species
- Ex. Song call, dance, etc.

Question 23

What types of display are there?

Answer 23

1) Reproductive: Certain behaviours and/or actions to prepare for mating
2) Agonistic: Ex. Dog wagging tail when happy
3) Others: Dancing, auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, etc.

Question 24

What is pecking order? How does it work? What does it minimize?

Answer 24

The relationships among members of same species living as a contained social group frequently become stable for a period of time

• Dominant member prevails over subordinate one
• Aggression by defining stable relationships among member of the group

Question 25

What is territoriality? Who occupies it? What does it do? How large/small is a territory?

Answer 25

Most land-dwelling species defend a limited area or territory from intrusion by other members of species

• Male or male-female pairs
• Serves to distribute members of species to avoid resource depletion
• If large population = smaller territories likely to be

Question 26

What is an important way animals communicate? What do they secrete?

Answer 26

Response to chemicals (i.e. olfactory sense - smell)

- Pheromones: Influence behaviour of other members

Question 27

What types of pheromones are there?

Answer 27

1) Releaser: Trigger reversible behavioural change in recipient
- I.e. Sex attractant pheromones are secreted by animals
- I.e. Alarm or toxic defensive substances

2) Primer: Produce long-term behavioural and physiological alterations in receiving animals
- Ex. Pheromones may affect cycles of females
- Ex. Limit sexual reproduction in areas of high density
- Ex. Regulate role determination and reproductive capacities in social insects