Learning Flashcards
innate behavior
- inherited
- behavior based on genetics or epigenetics (spider spinning a web, bird building a nest
instincts are important in many invertebrates since they don’t have parental care
simple innate behavior examples
- fixed action patterns and reflexes which are simple instinctive behaviors that don’t require learning
- rooting reflex
development
- some instinctive behaviors vary throughout development
– present at certain life stages
– acquired in response to hormonal or external factors - some LEARNING is only present at certain life stages
complex instincts
have a simple genetic basis
mice pheromones differ between males and females
imprinting
type of instinctive learning
formation of a bond between parent and offspring that allows them to recognize each other
critical period
- usually right after birth when an animal and its offspring learn specific cues about each other
- if this period elapses without imprinting, it NEVER takes place
instinctive learning
instinctive actions lead to learning by imprinting
- After birth, instinctive behaviors lead the goat mother to lick her child. If the mother cannot smell, she will not learn her child. Behaviors associated with recognizing the child is instinctive, but the specific individual who she will recognize as her child is learned by smelling during the critical period.
innate characteristics
heritable: encoded in DNA from generation to generation
intrinsic: present in animals raised in isolation
stereotypic: performed in the same way each time by an individual
inflexible: not modified by development or experience
consummate: fully developed or expressed at the first time
learned characteristics
nonheritable: acquired only through observation and experience
extrinsic: absent in animals raised in isolation
permutable: pattern or sequence may change over time
adaptable
adaptable: capable of modification to suit changing conditions
progressive: subject through improvement or refinement through practice
learned behavior
behavior that is modified based on experience
habituation
- continued exposure to the same stimulus produces a diminishing reflexive response
habituation example
sea hares become habituated to tickling when it is not accompanied by harm/pain
if you tickle their siphon, the initial response is to pull the siphon and gills away
BUT, if you repeat this four times a day for four days, the sea hare becomes habituated to the stimulus since it learns that it is not harmful
sensitization
exposure to a harmless stimulus at the same time as a noxious stimulus produces an increasingly intense response to the harmless stimulus
sensitization example
- researchers combine a gentle siphon tickle with an electric shock and repeated this
- sea hares learned the connection and showed a greater response even in the absence of the shock
- therefore, they are sensitized to the siphon tickle
unconditioned stimulus: electric shock
unconditioned response: withdraw gills
conditioned stimulus: siphon tickle
neural response
when sensitization occurs, more action potentials are sent to the sensory neuron which sends more neurotransmitters to the motor neuron
habituation neural response
observed: magnitude of unconditioned response decreases when exposed to unconditioned stimulus
neurons: sensory neuron produces less neurotransmitters that are sent to the motor neurons
sensitization neural response
observed: magnitude of unconditioned response increases when exposed the conditioned stimulus
neurons: sensory neurons produces more neurotransmitters that are sent to the motor neuronso
operant conditioning
is on voluntary behaviors rather than reflexes
forming an association between a new action and its reward
ex: a dog has learned a new stimulus and action to initiate its behavio
bird song
- has innate and learned characteristics
- males sparrows sing a mating song which females can recognize and respond to
- if supplemented with testosterone, the female bird can sing if she has imprinted on sparrow songs as a baby
- however, whether or not the bird sings, imprinting still occurs
other types of animal intelligence
animal cognition = mental function including perception, thinking, and memory
self-awareness
mistakes in animal intelligence
we tend to give animals behavior human explanations that can be erroneous
- octopus can learn and adapt to both natural and lab environments
- crows can use and construct tools
behaviors evolve…
in a natural context - it may be hard to recognize how tool usage may be different from humans
crows: use sticks to fish for food
elephants: considered incapable of using their trunk since it blocked nasal pathways, but they use boxes to reach heights
fishes: use rock and coral to break open pray
classical vs. operant conditioning
classical: involuntary behaviors based on stimuli
operant: voluntary behaviors learned based on consequences that come after
