Elicited Behaviours Flashcards
Elicited behaviour
a drawn our behaviour by the presentation of a stimulus
reflex
basic form of elicited behaviour, automatic, response
adaptive promotes survival
startle reflex
defensive reaction to an unexpected stimulus, muscles tighten + internal change (hormones+organs)
orienting reflex
positioning ourselves to attend to a stimulus - major body movement
reflex arc
neural pathway that controls reflex - synapses in the spinal cord send messages to the brain
fixed action pattern
fixed sequence of responses of species-specific behaviour elicited by a stimulus
ex: web building by a spider
releaser stimulus: sets it in motion!
ex: looking at something and gagging automatically
- adaptive+evolved to promote survival
not well suited for major changes
ex: deer running zigzag on a highway
Habituation
decrease in strength of an elicited repsonse to a stimuli after repetition, the response is most intense the first time
ex: habituating to the sound of a fan
longterm: response slowly decreases and slowly recovers in absence -> widely spaced (train going by apartment)
short-term: response quickly decreases and recovers quickly -> narrowly spaced (sound of fan)
Sensitization
enhancement of a response following repetition of a novel stimulus
- alerts to small, dangerous changes in there environment
ex: branches snapping in the woods
generalization occurs, ex: soldiers and bullet casing sounds will be generalized to slightest sounds that are similar
classical conditioning
1. purpose
2. components
Involuntary - introducing a new stimulus to elicit a response
Pavlov: train a dog to salivate to a metronome
components:
US-
UR-
NS-
CS-
CR-
aversive conditioning
US is an unpleasant event, that the person tends to avoid ex: shock, bite
fear conditioning: if given a shock (US) while in a box (NS), the animal will fear the box (CS)
UR and CR are not always so similar, pain can turn to fear: snake bite
pain(UR), bite (US) -> snake (NS -> CS), fear (CR)
responsible for fears + anxieties
appetitive conditioning
US is pleasant ex: food, water, drugs (addiction)
excitatory conditioning
NS is presented with US
NS becomes CS = CS+
a response is elicited
inhibitory conditioning
NS is associated with the removal of a stimulus
ex: if a dog doesn’t bite when the owner is around someone will associate the owner as an inhibitory CS for fear - no pain will occur
Temporal factors in conditioning:
delayed, trace, simultaneous, backwards
delayed
NS preceeds US but they overlap
best arrangement especially when the onset of the NS and US is short (ISI- interval)
trace
onset and offset of NS is before the US
oganism has to remember the occurrence of the NS
trace interval: time between NS and US
can be almost as effective as delayed if there is a VERY small trace interval
simultaneous
NS and US are presented at the same time
- poor conditioning, don’t know which object produces a behaviour (ex: pain)
backwards
The US is presented before the NS
least effective
could be useful to instill safety signals in some circumstances
ex: if a tone proceeds a snake it can warn a rat that a snake (biologically relevant signal for fear) will become present
Opponent Process Theory
emotions come in opposite pairs ex: happy/sad
opponent process sets in after the primary process is quieted
repeated exposure of a stimulus decreases the primary reaction and increases the opponent one
explains addictive behaviour: the emotional pairing of pleasure and symptoms of withdrawal, more pleasure is less withdrawal
but more drugs will lead to more withdrawals
response (a-process) elicits compensatory (b-process) that counteracts a-process
Tolerance
decreased sensitivity to a drugs effect after repetition - you need more drug to feel an effect
withdrawal: compensatory symptoms, oppose primary effect of the drug
metabolic tolerance
reduction in the amount of drug reaching the site of action
Functional Tolerance
less reactivity to a drug at the site of action, the number of receptors change to accommodate the drug effect
Conditioned Tolerance example
drugs = US
they produce UR
places, noises, smells (CS/NS)= paired with the drug
after repetition, you associate the CS with the effects of the US
the place then can produce a CR (mimicking the effect of a drug)
situational specificity
change of environment can lead to an overdose - loss of tolerence
