Lecture 1 Flashcards
What are goal directed behaviours?
set responses of an organism (usually in relation to environment stimuli)
Two types of goal directed behaviour?
- instinctual
2. learned
What is instinctual behaviour?
genetically programmed behaviours (no learning required)
e.g. reflex
What is a learned behaviour?
behaviours adapted to the environment, relatively flexible and open to modifications
- more complex interpretation of instinct behaviour
Psychological theory
instincts are motivators of behaviour
- impulses coming from within organism that lead to initiation of behaviour
Biological theory
instincts are behaviours
- they exist because they have or had survival value
- controlled by genes (therefore not learned)
- instinctive behaviours differ in terms of degrees of sensitivity to changes in environment –> appetitive and consummatory
Ethology
is the study of behaviour (but in a natural setting)
Appetitive behaviour
searching behaviours that are flexible, adapted to environment and subject to modifications through learning (variable behaviour)
Consummatory behaviour
fixed patterns of responding to specific stimuli
- rigid behaviours
- insensitive to environment
- highly stereotyped and independent form of learning
= fixed action patterns
Sigh stimuli
maintain basic characteristics but amplifying stimuli - activate fixed action pattern (e.g. nesting)
- usually objects
Social releasers
somebody’s behaviour (e.g. facial expressions or yawning)
- ability to recognize; not learned (genetically based)
Homeostasis
the tendency of an organism to maintain an internal equilibrium
- set point; perfect state
- the body’s thermostat
Drive
motivational construct associated with maintenance of the homeostatic balance of an organism
What is responsible for the disturbance of homeostasis?
Need
- activates motivational state
What is the need that induces motivational state?
Drive (energizes behaviour)
True or false - reduction of need reduces the drive?
True
What and who describes the “Drive Theory”?
Clark Hull - explained learning and motivation by scientific laws of behaviour
- mechanistic and based on homeostatic drive reduction
- habits (S-R) become stronger as a function of how often they are followed by a satisfying event
- the reduction of drive is satisfying
Link between stimulus and response
stimulus –> need –> drive –> response (satisfaction)
What is Hull’s model
sER = sHR x D Where: sER = strength of behaviour sHR = strength of learned response D = strength of drive
What is referred to a general pool of energy that can activate innate and learned behaviours?
Drive
- pain, lack of nutrients, excessive nutrients = all needs that activate the same energy
2 characteristics of drive?
non-specific and non-directive
What happens to need and drive when behaviour is performed?
= satisfaction
- both reduced
Sd
stimulus drives - direct body toward appropriate response
Incentive motivation
Hull eventually realized that the characteristics of the goal object influence the motivation of the organism
What formula explains incentive motivation?
sER = sHR x D x K
where:
K = incentive value of the goal object (extra added factor)
What does K depend on?
- characteristic of object
- quantity of object
Is the value of K learned?
Yes - incentive learning
Is the value of K relative?
Yes - incentive relativity
Central motive state describes?
the general motivational state of the body (S activates motivation)
What explains the optimal level of motivation?
Yerke’s-Dodson Law
Explain the Yerke’s Dodson Law
Inverse relationship between task difficulty and optimum motivation
- with simple problems, increasing motivation enhances learning
- with more difficult tasks, high motivation impairs it
Does increasing drive always lead to a positive outcome?
No
E.g. writing an exam:
Drive = energy to write exam
- varying from falling asleep to a caffeine high (not enough or too much isn’t good)
Is drive reduction necessary for learning?
No - Latent learning
What is latent learning?
learning that occurs in the absence of drive reduction, but remains unused until stimulus provides incentive for using i
E.g. remembering running trails (remember without satisfaction)
- stimulus that provides incentive is when you are biking and recognize the trail and know where it leads
= the process of creating memories without experiencing satisfaction
Habituation
decrease in strength of a response after repeated presentation of a stimulus that elicits the response
What causes habituation?
decrease in the release of neurotransmitters from the sensory neutron due to:
- reduction of pool synaptic vesicles
- inactivation of calcium channels by calcium itself
Sensitization
refers to the increment in response occurring upon repeated presentation of a stimulus that reliably elects a response
What causes sensitization?
- more neurotransmitters (more vesicles)
- involves facilitatory interneurons - serotonin
One shock:
- more Ca
- more vesicles in sensory neuron
- -> lasts minutes
Five shocks:
- growth of new synapses in sensory neutron
- -> can last days
Which response involves serotonin - habituation or sensitization?
Sensitization
Who studied aplysia?
Eric Kanel
What did Eric Kanel study?
How aplysia displayed learning and created memories
- ->habituation and sensitization are not associative
- both occur by being repeatedly exposed to the same stimulus
- reaction to either habituation/sensitization depends on level of arousal of subject
Experiments performed in the Aplysia have demonstrated that habituation is caused by?
reduction of pool of synaptic vesicles
Repeated presentation of a stimulus will cause which of the following?
either habituation or sensitization effects, depending on the subject’s level of arousal
Learning that occurs in the absence of drive reduction, but remains unused until a S provides an incentive for using is known as?
Latent learning
The central motive state:
- indirectly modulates learning
- influences the aversive value of a goal
- has an impact on the strength of behaviour
According to Hull’s drive theory:
Reduction of drive is satisfying
Which of the following does not belong?
Fixed action patterns, sign stimuli, learned behaviours, social releasers
Learned behaviours
Appetitive behaviours are most correctly described by which of the following?
early components of behaviour sequence
Of the following which is not a reflexive behaviour?
a baby pulling away when its nose/mouth are covered, maintaining attention when driving, turning to the location of a loud noise, sneezing in response to dust
maintaining attention while driving
