Lecture 10- Biological dispositions in learning Flashcards
An innate tendency for an organism to more easily learn certain types of behaviors or to associate certain types of events with each other.
What concept is this? Give an example.
2pts
Preparedness
Ex- Much easier to develop a fear of snakes than a fear of flowers because its a fear that’s ingrained in our biology.
What is a conditioned taste aversion (CTA)? Is it classical or operant conditioning?
4pts
- Classical conditioning
- Food item paired with a gastrointestinal illness becomes a conditioned aversive stimulus
- You become sick (UR) after ingesting the food
- You associate the food with the illness and subsequently avoid (CR) the food (CS)
It is especially important for BLANK to quickly develop CTA.
Why? What does it show?
3pts
- Rodents/rats
- They are not able to vomit- they rely on associations between taste and illnesses
- Shows evolutionary preparedness
What is stimulus generalization in CTA?
The food items that taste similar to the aversive food item are also perceived as aversive
What is overshadowing in CTA? Give an example
*Hint: More likely to…
2pts
More likely to develop a taste aversion to stronger tasting foods.
Ex- onions vs potatoes eaten in the same mean
What is extinction in CTA?
If the aversive food item is repeatedly ingested without further illness, the CS (food) may no longer elicit an avoidance response.
If you have a prior aversion to peas and get sick because of some bad fish, you are unlikely to develop CTA to the fish.
What concept is this?
Blocking
A familiar stimulus is more difficult to condition than
an unfamiliar (novel) stimulus.
What concept is this?
Elaborate and give an example.
3pts
- Latent inhibition
- We are more likely to associate a relatively novel/unfamiliar item with a sickness than we would a familiar item
- Steak vs exotic fruit (durian fruit)
BLANK is more readily associated with sickness (nausea) than with
shock (peripheral pain).
BLANK cues (light/noise) are more readily associated
with pain/shock than with sickness (nausea).
- Taste
- Audiovisual
There can be significant BLANK in what constitutes an effective BLANK across species.
- Depends on biological BLANK
- differences, CS
- preparedness
Adjunctive behavior:
- An BLANK pattern of behavior that emerges as a by
product of an BLANK schedule of reinforcement
for some other behavior. - As one behavior is being BLANK through
BLANK reinforcement, another quite different
behavior emerges as a side BLANK of that procedure
- excessive, intermittent
-strengthened, intermittent, effect
Adjunctive behavior:
When rats were trained to press a lever for food on an
intermittent schedule of reinforcement, they also began drinking excessive amounts of water.
- This pattern of excessive drinking—called …. developed quite rapidly
What is this called?
Schedule-induced polydipsia
Adjunctive behavior:
Occurs BLANK following consumption of an intermittent reinforcer.
- E.g., taking a sip after…
Stronger when the organism is BLANK of the reinforcer.
- E.g., rats drink more when…
- immediately
- every win of the slot machine
- deprived
- food deprived
- An apparently irrelevant activity sometimes displayed when confronted by conflict or thwarted from attaining a goal.
- It may be used to release pent-up energy
What concept is this? Give examples.
Displacement activity
- Ex- biting nails, fidget spinners
An instance of classical conditioning in which a genetically based, fixed action pattern gradually emerges and displaces the behavior that is being operantly conditioned.
What concept is this?
Instinctive drift
