study guide 5-7 Flashcards
What are cardinal numbers?
Cardinal numbers refer to the actual quantity or amount of something. They answer the question ‘How many?’.
Many animals can understand cardinal numbers in small quantities, such as distinguishing between ‘one’ and ‘two’ objects.
What is an example of animal cognition related to cardinal numbers?
Pigeons can distinguish between different quantities of food items.
This demonstrates a basic understanding of cardinal numbers.
What do ordinal numbers represent?
Ordinal numbers refer to the position or rank of an item in a sequence. They answer the question ‘Which one?’.
Can animals understand ordinal relationships?
Some animals can understand ordinal relationships, but their abilities are often limited compared to humans.
For example, monkeys can recognize which of two quantities is larger.
Define nominal numbers.
Nominal numbers are used to label or name objects rather than to represent a quantity or order.
Provide an example of a nominal number.
The number ‘7’ on a sports jersey.
It identifies the player without indicating quantity or position.
What is counting?
Counting refers to the ability to assign a specific numerical value to a set of items by sequentially adding one unit at a time.
Is true counting common in animals?
True counting is rare in animals; many can discriminate between quantities but do not count sequentially as humans do.
What is numerical discrimination?
Numerical discrimination refers to the non-verbal ability to distinguish between different quantities without counting them sequentially.
Example of numerical discrimination in animals.
An animal can discriminate between groups of food, such as 3 pieces versus 5 pieces.
This shows the ability to judge relative amounts.
What is the Approximate Number System (ANS)?
The ANS is a cognitive system that allows estimation and comparison of quantities without needing exact numbers.
What does Weber’s Law state?
Weber’s Law states that the change in stimulus intensity needed for detection is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity.
Define the magnitude effect.
The magnitude effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals are more accurate at discriminating between small numbers than large numbers.
What is the distance effect?
The distance effect refers to the phenomenon where the perceived difference between two numbers is larger when the numbers are further apart.
What is the Object File System?
The Object File System allows individuals to quickly and accurately recognize small quantities of objects without counting, known as subitizing.
What is subitizing?
Subitizing is the ability to rapidly and accurately recognize small quantities of objects without counting them.
What role does the Intraparietal Sulcus (IPS) play?
The IPS is crucial for numerical cognition, spatial processing, and attention, especially in tasks related to mathematics and quantity processing.
What are number-selective neurons?
Number-selective neurons are specialized cells that respond to specific quantities, aiding in the processing of numerical information.
What is a tuning curve?
A tuning curve is a graphical representation of how a neuron’s response changes with respect to specific numbers or quantities.
What is fixed interval timing?
Fixed interval timing is when an organism is trained to expect a reward after a specific fixed amount of time has passed.
What response pattern do animals show in fixed interval schedules?
Animals show a scalloped response pattern, with increased frequency of behavior as the time for reinforcement approaches.
What happens after reinforcement in fixed interval timing?
There is typically a short pause in responses after receiving reinforcement.
What is a fixed interval schedule in operant conditioning?
An organism learns that a reward will be given after a predetermined time period, regardless of its actions during that time.
This schedule leads to predictable behavior patterns in organisms.
What is the scalloped response pattern?
A characteristic response pattern where the rate of responding increases as the time for reinforcement approaches, peaking right before the reward is given.
This occurs because the animal begins to anticipate the reward.
What is a post-reinforcement pause?
A short pause in responses after receiving reinforcement, as the organism waits for the next interval to begin.
This behavior is observed in fixed interval schedules.
What is the peak procedure?
A task used to measure an organism’s internal clock and ability to estimate time by training it to respond after a fixed time interval and testing responses around that interval.
For example, pigeons trained to peck after 30 seconds will peak their responses around that time.
Define Scalar Expectancy Theory (SET).
A model proposing that organisms have an internal clock that tracks the passage of time, evaluating relative values rather than absolute values.
SET is foundational in timing research.
What are the components of Scalar Expectancy Theory?
- Clock: Tracks elapsed time
- Accumulator: Collects pulses generated by the clock
- Memory: Stores accumulated pulses
- Decision: Compares accumulated information with reference memory
These components help explain time estimation in animals.
What is the Temporal Bi-Section Task?
A method used to test an organism’s ability to discriminate between short and long time intervals through training and testing.
It measures temporal discrimination and internal clock precision.
What is the oscillator model in time perception?
A model suggesting the use of multiple oscillators, each oscillating for different time intervals, instead of a single pacemaker.
This allows organisms to process multiple durations simultaneously.
True or False: Time and number are fundamentally linked in cognition.
True.
Both can be studied in various settings and follow ratio-dependent principles.
Define taxis.
A directional movement toward or away from a stimulus, either positive (toward) or negative (away).
Examples include phototaxis (toward light) and geotaxis (away from gravity).
Define kinesis.
A non-directional movement in response to a stimulus, driven by changes in the intensity or presence of that stimulus.
Examples include thermokinesis and hygrokinesis.
What are landmarks in navigation?
Distinctive features or objects that help organisms orient themselves and navigate.
They can be visual, olfactory, or auditory cues.
What is small scale navigation?
The ability to navigate within a limited area using distinct landmarks.
It is crucial for finding food, shelter, or mates.
What is path integration?
A navigation strategy where organisms keep track of their position relative to a starting point by monitoring their own movements.
It is especially useful in open spaces.
What are cognitive maps?
Mental representations of the environment that allow organisms to navigate, remember locations, and plan routes.
The hippocampus is key in forming and recalling these maps.
Define homing.
The ability of an organism to return to a specific location after traveling away from it.
Mechanisms include spatial memory and environmental cues.
What is migration?
The seasonal movement of animals between distinct habitats, often over long distances.
It involves various environmental cues for navigation.
What is a sun compass?
A navigation method where animals use the position of the sun to determine direction.
They track the sun’s position relative to the time of day.
What is natal homing?
Returning to one’s birthplace to reproduce.
An example is the green sea turtle.
Fill in the blank: The __________ is a navigation strategy that allows animals to return to their starting point using internal information about their path.
Path Integration
What are the two decision-making strategies in foraging behavior?
- Win/Shift: Change location after a reward
- Win/Stay: Remain in the same location after a reward
These strategies describe behavior after receiving reinforcement.
What are olfactory cues and their role in navigation?
Olfactory cues are smells used by some animals, such as salmon and honeybees, to guide migration or homing.
What is the mechanism by which animals use olfactory cues?
Animals follow distinctive smells from the environment to locate specific destinations or return to breeding grounds.
Provide an example of an animal that uses olfactory cues for navigation.
Humpback whales travel up to 25,000km from cooler northern waters to warmer waters for reproduction.
What are place cells and where are they located?
Place cells are located in the hippocampus and fire when an organism is in a specific location.
What is the function of place cells?
Place cells create mental maps of spaces and encode spatial memory.
What are grid cells and where are they found?
Grid cells are found in the entorhinal cortex and fire in a regular grid-like pattern as an organism moves.
What is the role of grid cells in navigation?
Grid cells help track distance and direction, providing a coordinate system for navigation.
How do place cells and grid cells interact?
Together, they help create cognitive maps by providing location-specific and distance-based information.
What is decision making?
Decision making is the process of selecting one course of action over a variety of other options.
Define free will in the context of decision making.
Free will refers to the question of whether individuals have the freedom of thought and action.
What do brain imaging studies suggest about free will?
They suggest decisions happen in the brain up to 10 seconds before we are aware of them.
What is optimal foraging?
Optimal foraging is a theory that suggests animals maximize their foraging efficiency.
How can high predation affect optimal foraging?
Optimal foraging is compromised under circumstances of high predation.
What does the Marginal Value Theorem state?
It states that animals should leave a food patch when the rate of food intake drops below the average rate for the habitat.
What is the Ideal Free Distribution in foraging?
It suggests that the number of animals at a food patch is proportional to the amount of food available.
What is the Nash equilibrium in the context of foraging?
It refers to a situation where individuals in a group benefit more by cooperating than by pursuing selfish strategies.
What is collective decision making?
Collective decision making involves coordinated behaviors that provide a fitness advantage to the group.
How does group size affect collective decision making accuracy?
Increasing group size increases the accuracy of collective decisions.
What is the Matching Law?
It states that maximal payoff occurs when animals divide their time between two or more behavioral options.
Fill in the blank: The formula for the Matching Law is _______.
BA + BB = rA + rB
What are deviations from the Matching Law?
They include bias for one alternative, undermatching, and overmatching.
What is behavioral economics?
Behavioral economics studies how psychological factors influence economic decision making.
What is the difference between elastic and inelastic goods?
Inelastic goods have little change in demand with price increases, while elastic goods see a significant drop in demand.
What is the availability heuristic?
It leads individuals to assess the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind.
What is delayed discounting?
It is the preference for immediate rewards over delayed rewards, even if the delayed reward is larger.
What is the Somatic Marker Hypothesis?
It suggests that emotional reactions influence decision making.
Who is Phineas Gage and what does he demonstrate?
Phineas Gage demonstrates how damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex impairs emotional responses and decision making.
What is the Iowa Gambling Task?
It is a psychological task that shows how individuals with neurological damage struggle with decision making.
What does Weber’s Law describe?
It describes how the perception of changes in a stimulus is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus.
