Lecture 4 (development and learning)

Question 1

Define cognition and give examples.

Answer 1

The mechanisms by which animals aquire, process, store, and act on information from the environment (e.g. perception, learning, memory and decision-making).

Question 2

Explain the study from Cristol & Switzer in 1999.

Answer 2

Crows in Cali crack different walnuts from different heights

Question 3

Define genomic imprinting.

Answer 3

An epigenetic phenomenon by which certain genes can be expressed in a parent-of-origin-specific manner, independent of classical Mendelian inheritance.

Question 4

How can we demonstrate interactions between genotype and the environment in behaviour?

Answer 4

Different mice strains do and don’t use a spatial strategy [Sliva, 1992]

Question 5

Explain the study from vom Saal et al in 1983.

Answer 5

Aggressive behaviour in mice depends on their in utero hormonal environment.

Question 6

Why to arguments continue to arise about development and genetic determinism?

Answer 6

• Confusion due to relict terminology from nature vs nurture debate (innateness)
• Resistance to metaphorical language of ‘selfish gene’ theory and its apparent determinism
• Complexity of many developmental pathways and the tendency for functional explanations to take development ‘as read’

Question 7

Explain the study from Wells in 1958.

Answer 7

Learning occurs by practising a response without reinforcement.

Question 8

What are the problems with studying ‘learning’?

Answer 8

• Can be difficult to distinguish from other causes of change in behaviour over time
• Recognising it depends on seeing a change in behaviour, but this may not occur
• Hard to identify which events are relevant in cause and effect relationships

Question 9

Give examples of habituation studies.

Answer 9

Clark (1960) - ragworm and Peeke & Veno (1973) - three-spined stickleback.

Question 10

Name the factors affecting efficacy in classical conditioning.

Answer 10

• Relative timing
• Overtraining
• Past history of associations (blocking + overshadowing)
• Salience and constraints on learning

Question 11

What is the difference between Pavlovian and Skinnerian conditioning?

Answer 11

Pavlovian (classical) occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired, whereas Skinnerian (operant) is when behaviour is modified by ancestors and consequences.

Question 12

Explain two types of imprinting (aside from genomic).

Answer 12

Sexual - learning desirable characteristics to look for in a mate
Filial - acquiring several behavioural characteristics from a parent

Question 13

Define the 6 different types of learning.

Answer 13

Habituation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, latent learning, insight learning, imprinting.

Question 14

Explain the ‘Garcia effect’ and explain a relevant study.

Answer 14

Conditioned taste aversion when food is associated with symptoms caused by a toxic substance. [Ratcliffe et al, 2003] bats eating food containing citric acid.

Question 15

Explain 4 comparative studies (2 interspecific and 2 intraspecific).

Answer 15

Inter - [Olsen et al, 1995] crow species
[Gaulin + Fitzgerald, 1986] vole species

Intra - [Carlier + Lefebvre, 1996] Zenaida doves
[Huntingford + Wright, 1992] 3-spined sticklebacks

Question 16

Give problems of comparative measures.

Answer 16

• mechanosensory constraints
• adaptive specialisation
• selective tests
• Macphail’s ‘null hypothesis’
• shifting away from measuring ability
• learning sets or concept formation / insight