chapter 19 -Animal behaviour Flashcards
what is a reflex
are automatic responses to simple stimuli and are recognized as reliable behavior responses following a given environments stimulus
what is a simplex reflex controlled at
is controlled at the spinal chord connecting a two-neuron pathway from the receptor ( afferent neuron) to the motor chord ( efferent neuron)
what does complex reflex involve
neural integration at a higher level of the brainstem or even the cerebrum
what type of reflex is a startle response
complex reflex
what is the startle response
alters an animal to a significant stimulus
- It can occur in response to potential danger or to hearing ones name called
- Involves the integration of many neurons in a system termed the reticular activating system which is responsible for sleep-wake transitions and behavior motivation
what are fixed action patterns
complex innate behavioral responses to specific patterns of stimulation in the environment
can fixed action patterns be modified
- They are unlikely to be modified by learning and the animal has a repertoire of fixed action patterns and only a limited ability to develop new ones
- The stimulus that triggers a fixed action pattern are more readily modified provided certain cues or elements of stimuli are maintained
what is the releaser
the stimulus that elicits the behavior
what is Circadian rhythms
daily cycles of behavior
what kind of behaviour is sleep and weakness
Cyclical behavior
what are internal controls
are the natural bodily rhythms of eating and satiation
what are external controls
External modulators include the elements of the environment that occur in familiar cycle pattern such as dinner bells and clocks
what are environmental rhythms
- Patterns of behavior are established and maintained mainly by periodic environmental stimuli
what does learning behaviour involve
adaptive responses to the environment
what are the predominant determinants of behaviors patterns in both lower animals
instinctual or inmate behaviors
what part of the brain ( nervous system) plays a large role in learning
- the cerebral cortex for flexibility and plasticity
- The capacity for learning adaptive responses is closely correlated with the degree of neurologic development
what is habituation
- is one of the simplest learning patterns involving the suppression of the normal start response to stimuli
for habituation what does repeated stimulus result in
decreased responsiveness to that stimulus
what is spontaneous recovery
If the stimulus is no longer regularly applied the response tends to recover over time
what does classical conditioning involve
the association of a normally autonomic or visceral response with an environmental stimulus
what is replaced by the experimenter in Pavilion condition
the normal, innate stimulus for a reflex is replaced by one chosen by the experimenter
what is the salivation reflex
- studied by Ian Pavlov
- Found that if a dog was presented with an arbitrary stimulus ( a bell) and then present with food it would eventually salivate on hearing the bell along
- The food elicited the uncontrolled reponse of salivation
- The uncontrolled (innate) response would occur with the selected stimulus
what is an established reflex ( innate)
consists of an unconditioned stimulus and the response that is naturally elicited ( unconditioned response)
what is a natural stimulus
a stimulus that will not by itself elicit the response ( prior to conditioning)
what is a conditioned stimulus
the neutral stimulus is able to elicit the response in the absence of the uncontrolled stimulus
what are conditioned reflexes
- salivation
- the product of the conditioning experience
what is conditioning
- the establishment of a new reflex (association of stimulus with response) by the addition of a new previously neutral stimulus to the set of stimulus that are already capable of triggering the response
what is a critical test for conditioning
is the determination of whether the conditioning process is actually necessary for the production of a response by a previously “neutral” stimulus
- In many cases the neutral stimulus is able to elicit the response even before conditioning and hence is not a neutral stimulus
what is habit family hierarchy
reward strengthens a specific behavioral response and raises its order in the hierarchy
what is extinction
is the gradual elimination of conditioned responses in the absence of reinforcement
-In instrumental and operant conditioning the response is diminished and finally eliminated in the absence of reinforcement
when does extinction occur in classical conditioning
when the unconditioned stimulus is removed or was never sufficiently paired with the conditioned stimulus
what is spontaneous recovery
the recovery of the conditioned response after extinction
what is stimulus generalization
is the ability of a conditioned organism to respond to stimuli that are similar but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus
what is stimulus discrimination
involves the ability of the learning organism to respond differentially to slightly different stimuli
what is stimulus generalization gradient
is established after the organism has been conditioned whereby stimuli further and further away from the original conditioned stimulus elicit responses with decreasing magnitude
what is imprinting
is a process in which environmental patterns or objects presented to a developing organism during a brief critical period in early life bc accepted permanently as an element of its behavioral environment
what is visual critical period
if light is not present during this period visual effectors will not develop properly
what is a display
an innate behavior that has evolve as a signal for communication between members of the same species
what are the 2 toes of displays
reproductive and agonistic displays
what is an agonistic display
specific behaviors that function to reduce physical harm to the animal
-Ex. Some species of birds puff up their chest and raise their feathers to look larger and thus scare away predators
what is a reproductive display
: specific behaviors found in all animals including humans
Many animals have evolved a variety of complex actions that function as signals in preparation for mating
what is pecking order and what does it do
Social hierarchy
-Minimizes violent intraspecific aggressions by defining stable relationships among members of the group
larger the population the larger the territories are likely to be–> True or false
False
Larger the population the smaller the territories are likely to be
what are pheromones and what do they do
substances that animals secrete and they influence the behavior of other members of the same species
what are the 2 types of pheromones
releaser and primer pheromones
what is a releaser pheromone
pheromones trigger a reversible behavior change in the recipient
is a sex attractant pheromone a releaser or primer pheromone
releaser
what is a primer pheromone
produce long term behavior and physiological alternations in receiving animals
