Learning

Question 1

What are the three things you need sensation to do

Answer 1

Find food
Detect predators
Find suitable mates

Question 1

What are the three things you need to perform actions to do

Answer 1

Obtain food
Escape from predators
Attract suitable mates

Question 2

What is innate behavior

Answer 2

Sensory input leads to a fixed action pattern/motor program

Question 3

What is learning behavior

Answer 3

Sensory input leads to changing actions

Question 4

Explain innate behavior in a second way

Answer 4

A behavior that once triggered will progress in a specific manner

Question 5

Are innate behaviors modifiable?

Answer 5

No

Question 6

What are stimuli/sensory inputs that trigger innate behaviors called?

Answer 6

Releasers or sign stimuli

Question 7

What are two animals that practice innate behavior?

Answer 7

Male stickleback and Graylag goose

Question 8

Describe the male stickleback’s mating behavior

Answer 8

During mating season, their ventrum turns red and they establish a territory to build a nest. Once a female spots a male near a nest, she follows any red object into the nest and lays eggs. Males attack any crude model with a red bottom

Question 9

What is the releaser in the situation of the stickleback mating

Answer 9

A red object

Question 10

What is the fixed action pattern in the situation of the stickleback

Answer 10

The male attacking a crude model with a red bottom

Question 11

Describe the graylag goose’s innate behavior

Answer 11

If an egg becomes displaced from the nest, the goose rolls it back with its beak. It will continue even if the egg is removed and replaced with an egg shaped object

Question 12

What is the releaser in the situation of the graylag goose

Answer 12

Egg shaped objects

Question 13

What are supernormal stimuli

Answer 13

Objects with extreme and unnatural features that release an innate behavior

Question 14

What features are preferred in animals (in the context of supernormal simuli)

Answer 14

More extreme features

Question 15

What is code breaking

Answer 15

The term used to describe the duplication of another species’ releasing mechanisms. Usually dont by other species in order to take advantage of the fixed action patterns of the other species.

Question 16

What three questions should be asked about any learning phenomenon?

Answer 16

What conditions bring about learning?
What is the content that is learned?
How does learning change behavior?

Question 17

What are two other terms for classical conditioning

Answer 17

Pavlovian or respondent conditioning

Question 18

What is classical conditioning

Answer 18

A learning procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus is paired with a previously neutral stimulus

Question 19

What is the result of classical conditioning

Answer 19

Behavioral changes made by building a predictive relationship between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus

Question 20

What is an unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 20

Releasers that cause unconditioned response

Question 21

What is an unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 21

Fixed action patter in response to US

Question 22

What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 22

A secondary stimulus which creates a response conditioned on learning

Question 23

What is a conditioned response (CR)

Answer 23

Response when presented with CS

Question 24

What is an example of classical conditioning in leopard frogs

Answer 24

They blink in response to a touch to the eye but not a light touch on the nostril. After several pairings of a nostril touch followed by an eye touch, the frogs blink to the light touch on the nostril

Question 25

What is an example of classical conditioning in lemon sharks

Answer 25

They have learned to blink to a light that heralds a mild electric shock close to the eye. The shock causes them to blink, and after a little training they blink to the light

Question 26

What are the two conditions for classical conditioning

Answer 26

Contiguity and contingency

Question 27

Describe contiguity in classical conditioning

Answer 27

CS and US have to be close together in time in space

Question 28

What does the time frame for classical conditioning depend on

Answer 28

The task and the species

Question 29

Describe contingency in classical conditioning

Answer 29

There must be a regular predictive relationship between the CS and US (US consistenly follows CS)

Question 30

Who shoed that contingency, not just contiguity forms the basis of learning

Answer 30

Rescorla (1969)

Question 31

How did Rescorla show that contingency, not just contiguity forms the basis of learning

Question 32

What is blocking

Answer 32

Prior associations can block a second association between stimulus and outcome

Question 33

Who proved blocking

Answer 33

Kamin (1968)

Question 34

How did Kamin prove blocking

Question 35

What is overshadowing

Answer 35

Reduced associative strength when individual stimulus is presented after learning on compound stimulus... the individual stimulus is overshadowed by a more relevant or salient stimulus

Question 36

What causes extinction in classical conditioning

Answer 36

Removing US pairing with CS

Question 37

What is the Rescorla Wagner Model

Answer 37

Mathematical description of predicted associative strength (conditioning between stimulus and US)

Question 38

Describe the Rescorla Wagner Model

Question 39

Describe temporal difference learning

Answer 39

Animals can learn to associate cues that are temporally separated in a transitive manner.

Question 40

What can temporal difference learning be used for

Answer 40

Long term planning

Question 41

Give an example of temporal difference learning

Answer 41

Shine light and play music. Play music and give treat. Shine light, dog drools

Question 42

What is the thorndike law of effect

Answer 42

Responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation

Question 43

What does the thorndike law of effect describe

Answer 43

Operant conditioning

Question 44

What is operant conditioning

Answer 44

A type of associative learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment

Question 45

What is another term for operant conditioning

Answer 45

Instrumental conditioning

Question 46

What is one way testing operant conditioning is usually done in rats and similar animals

Answer 46

In an operant chamber where the rat receives food reward for performing appropriate reactions

Question 47

What is a second way testing operant conditioning is usually done in rats and similar animals

Answer 47

Mazes where the rat needs to explore and learn to go to a particular part of the maze to ger a reward

Question 48

What is positive/negative reinforcement in operant conditioning?

Answer 48

Taking action leads to increase/decrease in reward

Question 49

What is positive/negative punishment in operant conditioning

Answer 49

Taking action leads to increase/decrease in punishment

Question 50

What is shaping and what type of reinforcement is it

Answer 50

Increasing a targeted behavior through reinforcement in a process of successive approximation Positive reinforcement

Question 51

What did Garcia and Koelling (1964) show

Answer 51

Association between Rats have biases in aversion learning

Question 52

What bias do rats have in aversion learning

Answer 52

Association between taste and following nausea can be learnt even if separated by hours. This is not true for light followed by shocks, as this association requires short separation

Question 53

What is an example of innately guided learning

Answer 53

Imprinting (form of innate bias)

Question 54

What is an animal that performs imprinting

Answer 54

Chicks

Question 55

How does imprinting work with chicks

Answer 55

They learn to recognize their mother hours after hatching and follow her outside ofthe nest. They imprint on the mother's visual form, waddling motion, and voice.

Question 56

How long after hatching to chicks imprint best

Answer 56

16 hours

Question 57

What happens to chicks that do not imprint by 30 hours

Answer 57

They never imprint

Question 58

What happens once chicks imprint

Answer 58

They never change mothers

Question 59

What happens if a chick cannot imprint on its mother

Answer 59

it will imprint on another animal

Question 60

What happens if there is no animal around for a chick to imprint on

Answer 60

It will imprint on an inanimate object

Question 61

What are the neural correlates of learning

Question 62

What do animals need to act on to perform desired behavior

Answer 62

Their sensory obervations

Question 63

What does classical conditioning study

Answer 63

How stimulus-reward associations are learnt

Question 64

What does operant conditioning study

Answer 64

How action-reward associations are learnt

Question 65

What is the association between innate behavior and learned behavior

Answer 65

Innate behavior can interact with learned behavior to produce different actions