L8 - Learning and Instinct 1

Question 1

What is innate behaviour and how does it differ from learning?

Answer 1

Innate behaviour is inborn and derived from an animals genes

Learned Behaviour is acquired during its lifetime via experience

Question 2

What are sign stimuli, and is there any experimental evidence that they exist?

Answer 2

A sign stimuli a combination of stimuli that elicit a specific behaviour

Question 3

What types of behaviour should be innate; and why aren’t all behaviours?

Answer 3

c

Question 4

What are the different forms of associative learning and how do they differ?

Answer 4

1) Classical (Pavlovian) conditioning - when a previously neutral event occurs in the environment which predicts a closely time second event
2) Instrumental or Operant conditioning - when an animals performs a behaviour (perhaps instinctual) it learns that this behaviour leads to another meaningful event

Question 5

Define associative learning

Answer 5

A process through which an action or stimulus that hitherto had little significance becomes meaningful. There are 2 types

Question 6

Give an example of each of the types of associative learning

Answer 6

1) Classical: a dog associating a bell with a food reward

2) instrumental: a light comes on and a rat learns to press a lever for food

Question 7

Describe the honeybee example for classical conditioning

Answer 7

Honeybees forage for food on flowers, to get nectar. Because flowers come and go in the environment they cannot predict where their food will be. Instead they must learn how to find flowers with good food. They can associate flower colour/ shape/ smell/ location/ shape with food reward

Question 8

What is a conditioned stimulus?

Answer 8

A neutral stimulus that acquires a meaning itself by being paired with a meaningful event - for a bee this would be floral scent or colour

Question 9

What is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 9

A stimulus or event that has meaning and elicits a behavioural response in an animal on its own - for a bee this would be a nectar reward

Question 10

What is an unconditioned response?

Answer 10

the behavioural response of the animal to an unconditional stimulus - the bee puts its proboscis out to eat

Question 11

What are excitory and inhibitory conditioning?

Answer 11

Excitory: When the conditioned stimulus predicts the occurrence of the unconditioned stimulus

Inhibitory: when the conditioned stimulus predicts the absence of the unconditioned

Question 12

Define what an imprinted behaviour is

Answer 12

A process through which the social preferences of young animals become restricted to a particular stimulus or class of stimuli

Question 13

Give an example of imprinting

Answer 13

Newly hatched goslings imprint on the first thing they see - usually a parent. But this can be a human, they will follow them around.

Question 14

What is sexual imprinting?

Answer 14

Sexual imprinting: sexual preferences imprinted as a result of rearing environment

One problem with this is that later in life they will try to court/mate whatever kind of animal they have originally imprinted on, as that is what they think they are - could be a human and a gosling

Question 15

What is the typical stance of a prey and predator

Answer 15

prey: low lying, slow moving, small - sign stimulus for food

Predator: large, upright, fast - sign stimulus for a predator

Question 16

What is an instinct?

Answer 16

A behaviour pattern that appears in fully functional form the first time it is performed, even thought the animal has no experience of the stimuli eliciting it

Often depends on the animals developmental stage and motivational state