Exam II Flashcards
appetitive stimulus
a pleasant or wanted event/stimuli, approachable
aversive stimulus
stimuli that are unpleasant
Bateman’s principle
- females should be the choosier sex because eggs are biologically expensive to produce and because a female’s reproductive success is more limited than a male’s.
- A female’s greater choosiness in mates should translate into a greater variance in the reproductive success of males
Blocking
when an association between an unconditioned stimulus and a response prevents an individual from respoding to another stimulus or causes the individual to respond less strongly to the second stimulus
cognitive ecology
the study of how cognitive mechanisms (perception, learning, memory, etc). are used in solving ecological problems
Conditioned response (CR)
the learned response to a conditioned stimulus, a stimulant that is associated with a second stimulus to cause a response
conditioned stimulus
a stimulus that initially fails to elicit a particular response when it is associated with a second (unconditioned) stimulus
copying
-When the observer repeats the actions of the model and receives some kind of reward for doing so
-does not need to be novel, the individual most likely would have attempted the behavior at some point anyway
cultural transmission
the process by which information is transferred between individuals, through either teaching or learning through observing others
direct benefits model of mate choice
natural selection favors females that have a genetic predisposition to prefer mates that provide them with tangible resources that increase their fertility
excitatory conditioning
when a conditioned stimulus leads to an action
extinction rate
how soon a behavior stops
gender
behavioral traits associated with one sex; social and cultural differences rather than biological differences
good genes model
natural selection favors females that choose males with genes best suited for a particular environment
habituation
when an animal has reduced sensitivity to a stimulus overtime
honest indicators
true indicators of male genetic quality; the sender displays a reliable (honest) signal to females that cannot be replicated. Ex: peacock feathers
horizontal cultural transmission
information is passed between individuals of similar ages and can occur in both adults and young individuals; information through peers
imitation
A new behavior learned from others that manipulates the surroundings in a novel way in the interest of achieving a goal. Example: the other monkeys in Imo’s group observe her and learn how to wash sweet potatoes themselves.
inhibitory conditioning
when a conditioned stimulus suppresses or inhibits behavior
instrumental conditioning
occurs when a response made by the animal is reinforced; also known as operant/goal-directed learning
intersexual selection
Form of sexual selection in which individuals of one sex choose which individuals of the other sex to take as mates
intrasexual selection
Form of sexual selection whereby members of one sex compete with each other for access to the other sex
Law of effect
If a response in the presence of a stimulus is followed by a positive event, the association between the stimulus and the response will be strengthened.
learning
a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience
leks
a gathering of two or males that perform different courtship displays to attract females, common in various bird species
local enhancement
When an individual is drawn to a particular area because it observed another individual in that location
nuptial gifts
Prey presented by members of one sex to members of the other sex during courtship.
oblique cultural transmission
-Oblique cultural transmission is information being learned across generations from an adult who are not parents to younger animals that are not offspring or in other words learning from old to young in non-relatives.
-For example rhesus monkeys and learning about the danger of snakes.
overshadowing
When the learned response to an unconditioned stimulus (US1) is stronger if it is presented alone versus when it is paired with a second unconditioned stimulus (US2).
Pavlovian/Classical conditioning
first developed by Ivan Pavlov; the experimental pairing of a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus
phenotype
The observable characteristics of an organism
phenotype plasticity
the ability for an organism to produce different phenotypes depending on environmental conditions
response rate
rate at which behavior repeats
runaway sexual selection
Sexual selection where the female prefers a specific trait among males, so that trait gets selected for. This continues for generations while the females prefer that the trait becomes even more exaggerated. There is no limiting factor in developing the trait, so it continues to become exaggerated in a positive feedback loop.
Second-order conditioning
After an original conditioned response (CR) has been learned from conditioned stimulus 1 (CS1) a scientist will pair a new stimulus with CS1 and if the new stimulus elicits the same CR when used by itself then it becomes a second conditioned stimulus (CS2). Scientists can keep adding new conditioned stimulus until it becomes habituated or too far away, or overshadowed, etc. For example, adding the light with the blue stick and now the mouse hides when the light comes out.
Sensitization
When an organism becomes more and more sensitive to a stimulus over time
Sensory bias
When a male trait first emerges that is preferred by females that elicts a neurobiological response that is already in place of females; usually not associated with mating preferences.
sex
types of gametes an individual can produce
sexual imprinting
young imprint on the behavior and morphology of adults, most likely their parents, use these characteristics to guide selection of mates.
social learning
learning by observing others
teaching
The process wherein an individual offers an immediate benefit to the student(s) without obvious self-gain, the student(s) is naive to the skills being taught, and the teacher’s aid helps the student(s) gain such new skills or knowledge much faster than they could learn without help.
tradition
When a new behavior emerges and then becomes common within a group as a result of social learning.
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
a stimulus that elicits a vigorous response in the absence of training
Vertical cultural transmission
The method of passing information between generations where a parent either teaches or performs a behavior that their offspring repeat.
overshadowing
when two or more stimuli are present, one stimulus produces a stronger response than the other because it is more ‘relevant’
learnability
the ability to learn under certain conditions
latent inhibition
the reduced ability to learn the relevance of a stimulus that is paired with either an adverse/positive stimulus
social facilitation
the mere presence of a model, regardless of what it does, is thought to facilitate learning on the part of the observer
