cognition

Question 1

what is cognition

Answer 1

acquisition, processing, storage and application of information from the environment

Question 2

how does domestication affect cognition

Answer 2

it can make animals more receptive to social cues. there is evidence for this being acquired genetically/ evolutionarily rather than learnt

Question 3

how does conditioning affect tolerance

Answer 3

if animals are expecting a stimulus they may be more tolerant eg rats expecting heroin were less likely to die form overdose

Question 4

what is cue exposure theory

Answer 4

conditioned stimulus is given without conditioned- bell without food. the responsiveness to the stimuli diminishes over time

Question 5

what is perception

Answer 5

the ability to be aware of something in the environment by being able to sense it. it is experimentally important as if animals can’t sense the stimuli then the results are meaningless

Question 6

how do animals perceive vision

Answer 6

humans can sense visible light. other animals may be able to detect UV/IR or have more photoreceptors

Question 7

how do animals perceive smell

Answer 7

chemical receptors. it is used for survival (food etc) or communication (mates etc). dogs can isolate odours within a mix

Question 8

how to animals perceive sound

Answer 8

humans hear 20-20,000 Hz. other animals can hear infrasound or ultrasound

Question 9

what is echolocation

Answer 9

animals give of sound and then use the echo to determine how far away something is eg can be used by bats flying at night

Question 10

how do animals perceive magnetic sensitivity

Answer 10

it can be used by navigating animals as they can sense where they are relative to the earth’s magnetic fields. can be used in migrating species eg sea turtles

Question 11

what is insight

Answer 11

piecing together experience to form conclusions which are not immediately obvious

Question 12

what is transitive inference

Answer 12

logical inference from limited information given eg if a>b and b>c then a>c

Question 13

what is value transfer

Answer 13

reinforcement of a behaviour or decision gives it value eg if b>c and c>d (in that b and c receive food respectively in the two situations) then animals will choose b over d because it associates it with a higher value

Question 14

what is social learning

Answer 14

observer reproduces behaviour with a time delay after demonstration and without the demonstrator present

Question 15

what is social facilitation

Answer 15

increased behaviour due to observing others doing int eg hiccups

Question 16

what is stimulus enhancement

Answer 16

increased likelihood of approaching a stimulus if others are doing the same

Question 17

what is local enhancement

Answer 17

increased likelihood of approaching a location if others are going there

Question 18

what is affordable learning

Answer 18

learning what can be done with an object or the environment

Question 19

what is observation conditioning

Answer 19

learning behaviour from observation rather than personal behaviour eg monkeys watching snakes cause other monkeys fear makes them afraid

Question 20

what is imitation

Answer 20

copying behaviour exactly, including unnecessary behaviour, in order to achieve the same goal

Question 21

what is emulation

Answer 21

exact copying of behaviour with a different goal or near exact copying of behaviour with the same goal

Question 22

what is teaching

Answer 22

animals alter their behaviour to help a naïve observer acquire a skill with a cost/ no immediate benefit to the teacher