Limits of Learning for an individual or species

Question 1

Every species has physiological structures (——, ——-) that imposes limits on conditioning.

Answer 1

brain, body

Question 2

t sometimes seems that classical and operant conditioning are simple processes with predictable results. This is not always the case because every species has its own ——- ——-

Answer 2

evolutionary history

Question 3

BF Skinner, towards the end of World War II and in the 1950s, when he showed people how easily animals could be —— to perform behaviours that were not in their species repertoire of natural behaviour.

Answer 3

shaped

Question 4

chimpanzees can’t learn to speak like humans because

Answer 4

their anatomical vocal structures are not like ours

Question 5

The ——– structure of individuals or species sets limits on what can be learned.

Answer 5

physical

Question 6

Learned behavior is not

Answer 6

passed on to future generations

Question 7

LIMITS OF LEARNING

Answer 7

(1) Physical characteristics
(2) learned behavior is NOT inherited
(3) Individual differences
(4) critical periods
(5) neurological damage

Question 8

Heredity plays a role in learning ability- but is

Answer 8

controversial

genes contribute to differences within & between species; but environment also plays a role (e.g. enriched early learning environments)

Question 9

imprinting in birds is an example of ——- ——-

Answer 9

critical periods

Question 10

neurological damage is a “limit of learning” that can be caused by

Answer 10

Prenatal exposure to alcohol & other drugs
Exposure to neurotoxins
Head injury
Malnutrition

Question 11

food reinforcement can elicit ——- food foraging & handling behaviours, which cause a decline in effectiveness of an operant response reinforced by food

Answer 11

innate

Question 12

innate response tendencies interfere with conditioning processes is known as

Answer 12

Instinctive drift

Question 13

what animal did BRELAND & BRELAND (1961): identify as the best behavioural model for teaching operant conditioning in the classroom.

Answer 13

chickens (Gallus domesticus)

Question 14

Aversions to food can develop, if:

Answer 14

• eating a particular food is followed by nausea (due to food poisoning, illness, or alcohol intoxication);
• animals readily make connections between taste and nausea while most conditioning takes more than ONE pairing for an association to develop!

Question 15

animals quickly learn to avoid food that has made them sick makes sense from an _________ point of view

Answer 15

evolutionary

Question 16

Martin Seligman suggests ‘preparedness’ is: .

Answer 16

• biologically programmed;
• a species-specific predisposition to be conditioned in certain ways and not others

Question 17

Humans appear easily to develop phobias to:

Answer 17

• spiders, snakes, heights & darkness; * fear and avoidance of them may have helped survival of our early ancestors

Question 18

Some excessive (aberrant or ‘abnormal’) behaviours can occur during

Answer 18

fixed-interval schedules:

Question 19

Some excessive (aberrant or ‘abnormal’) behaviours can occur during fixed-interval schedules: * typically occur just after reinforcement (during the post-reinforcement pause). are known as

Answer 19

SCHEDULE-INDUCED BEHAVIOURS OR ADJUNCTIVE BEHAVIOURS

Question 20

polydipsia (excessive drinking), * excessive wheel-running, and * excessive aggression are examples of

Answer 20

SCHEDULE-INDUCED BEHAVIOURS OR ADJUNCTIVE BEHAVIOURS

Question 21

an example of SCHEDULE-INDUCED BEHAVIOURS OR ADJUNCTIVE BEHAVIOURS IN HUMANS are

Answer 21

Excessive levels of ‘instinctive’ appetitive behaviours (eating, drinking) can also occur.

Question 22

Operant conditioning is different to taste aversion in the way

Answer 22

Taste aversion can be acquired from a single instance

Question 23

Ecological Learning Theory is important because while it also focuses on principles of learning, it takes the —————————————————————————– while considering the adaptive significance or survival value of every behaviour.

Answer 23

environment or ecology of the species into account

Question 24

An understanding of principles of learning can help explain how problems arise with wildlife, and principles can also be applied for — ——- ——– of predators

Answer 24

non-lethal control

Question 25

TRADITIONAL LEARNING THEORY Focuses on basic laws of learning fundamental to all species, and has typically ignored biological issues, such as:

Answer 25

• What is the function of learning?
• How is it linked to survival?
• How did learning processes evolve, and did they evolve separately in different species? (Davey, 1989).

Question 26

This theory takes the ecological niche and lifestyle of the organism into account;

behaviour is influenced by the environment and learning serves a biological (survival) function

Answer 26

ECOLOGICAL LEARNING THEORY *

Answer 27

BEHAVIOR SYSTEMS APPROACH

Question 28

learning theory that integrates innate & learned behaviour

takes environment & adaptive functions into account

learning modifies behaviour systems that already exist

Answer 28

BEHAVIOR SYSTEMS APPROACH

Question 29

‘feeding system’ (of behavioural system approach) is made up of four main components:

Answer 29

search,
capture,
handling and
eat/reject/hoard

(Learning can effect the innate behaviour system of feeding)

Question 29

ENRICHMENT BASED ON BEHAVIOUR & ECOLOGY is called

Answer 29

ENRICHMENT BASED ON BEHAVIOUR & ECOLOGY (BEHAVIOURAL ECOLOGY)

Question 30

BEHAVIOURAL ECOLOGY

Answer 30

applies knowledge about species-specific behaviour in natural environments to choose enrichment activities that encourage natural behaviours like exploration, play and foraging (novelty decreases over time due to habituation)

Question 31

List natural behaviours

Answer 31

exploration, play and foraging

Question 32

the study of information processing across species, which includes humans and non-human animals

Answer 32

Comparative cognition is

Question 33

the ability to attribute mental states to others, such as knowledge, intentions and beliefs.

Answer 33

Theory of Mind