Lecture 17 Flashcards
What do the organism-environment system and behaviour and learning involve?
The organism environment system consists of physiological factors affecting an organism, which will generate behavior in response to events/stimuli in the environment (and thereby changing environment. These can be generated by other organisms and natural forces. Behaviours and learning only involves the Organism, behaviour, environment and events/stimuli loop.
What are behaviours selected for by?
Behaviours are selected by evolution, these can be reflexive (e.g eye-blinking), or instinctual (e.g imprinting(following what they first saw when born) or homing behaviours). Behaviours can also be selected by experience (learning), this can be by habituation, association of events (classical conditioning), consequences of events (instrumental conditioning) and observation of events (observational learning).
What is habituation?
Habituation is the decline in tendency to respond to stimuli that have become familiar due to repeated exposure. This is important for conserving energy when we don’t need to react to stimuli we already know. Dishabituation (the opposite) can occur if the experience becomes less common.
What does classical conditioning involve?
Classical conditioning involves a neutral stimulus which isn’t related to the unconditioned stimulus, which generates the wanted response. Eventually this neutral response will lead to the wanted response, even without the unconditioned stimulus, making it a conditioned stimulus.
What are some examples of conditioned emotional responses?
Conditioned emotional responses include things like: increased heart rate, “hair standing on end”, flushes, muscle tension as well as neutral stimuli associated with emotional events can elicit emotional responses.
What is conditioned fear?
Conditioned fear is an example of classical conditioning in which fear is stimulated due to association of a neutral stimulus (e.g rat) with a scary stimulus (e.g banging noise).
What are some interesting examples of classical conditioning?
Stress or drugs can cause immunosuppresion, a decrease in antibody production. This response seems subject to classical conditioning. Endorphins can also be subject to this. Fetishes are also examples of classical conditioning, as the object has become a conditioned stimulus.
