Topic 3 Animal Behavior: Kinds of Animal Behavior

Question 1

1. Simple reflexes - these are automatic and involve two nerves: afferent and efferent nerves. The response to stimulus is controlled at the spinal cord.
2. Complex reflexes - these are automatic responses to significant stimulus. This is slower than simple reflexes because the nerves do not directly synapse with each other at the central nervous system like in simple reflexes. Instead, the nerves in complex reflexes are separated by an interneuron. Complex reflexes are controlled at the brain stem or even the cerebrum. An example of a complex reflex is the startle response, which is controlled by the reticular activating system.

Answer 1

Simple and Complex Reflexes

Question 2

• These are behaviors that are innate or inherited. An example of an instinctual behavior is in mammals who care for their offspring by female parents.

Answer 2

Instinct

Question 3

• These are innate behaviors that follow a regular, unvarying pattern. Fixed action patterns are initiated by a specific stimulus called a sign stimuli. The sign stimuli is called a releaser when it is between members of the same species. In many FAPs, the action will be completed even if the original sign stimuli is removed. The FAP is completed even if the original intent of the behavior cannot be fulfilled. Reflexes are technically FAPs. An example of a FAP is when a goose methodically rolls an egg lying on the edge back to the nest. Even if the egg is removed after the goose starts the FAP, it will still perform the action. The sign stimuli is the egg outside the nest. Another example of an FAP is male stickleback fish defending territory against any object with red undersides.

Answer 3

Fixed Action Patterns (FAP)

Question 4

• This is an innate program for acquiring specific behaviors only if the appropriate stimulus is experienced during the critical/sensitive period. Once acquired, the trait is irreversible. It can influence sexual selection. A well-known example of imprinting are when graylag goslings accept any moving object as their mother during the first day of life. Another example is salmon that return to their birthplace to breed based on imprinted odors associated with the birthplace.

Answer 4

Imprinting

Question 5

• This occurs when an animal recognizes (learns) that events are connected. This allows individuals to benefit from exposure to unexpected repeated events. There are several forms of associative learning.

Answer 5

Associative Learning

Question 6

1. Classical Conditioning

2. Trial-and-error learning (operant conditioning)

Answer 6

Types of Associative Learning

Question 7

• The most well- known example of classical conditioning are Pavlov’s dogs. Dogs naturally salivate when presented with food. This salivation caused by food is called the unconditioned response, which is an innate reflex, and the food stimulus is the unconditioned stimulus. Pavlov then rings a bell when food is presented, and after some time, the dogs associated the bell sound with the food stimulus. However, ringing a bell with no food during the beginning of the experiment will not cause any response in the dog because the bell sound was still a neutral stimulus. At the end though, the dogs ended up salivating just at the sound of the bell without needing the food/unconditioned stimulus. Thus, the bell sound became the conditioned stimulus that will elicit a response even in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus. The salivation caused by the conditioned stimulus is called the conditioned response/reflex.

Answer 7

1. Classical Conditioning

Question 8

• This is another form of associative learning that occurs when an animal connects its own behavior with either a punishment or reward. If the animal’s response is rewarded/ reinforced, the animal will repeat its behavior. If the animal’s response is punished, the animal will avoid that behavior. Punishment and reward can either be positive or negative (positive punishment, negative punishment, positive reward, negative reward). Positive means adding something, and negative means removing something.

Answer 8

2. Trial-and-error learning (operant conditioning)

Question 9

a. Positive Punishment
b. Negative Punishment
c. Positive Reinforcement
d. Negative Reinforcement

Answer 9

Types of Trial-and-error learning (operant conditioning)

Question 10

• Adding something bad to decrease a behavior (e.g., hitting an animal when it bites someone)

Answer 10

a. Positive Punishment

Question 11

• Taking away something good to decrease a behavior (e.g., not giving treats to an animal when it does not follow orders)

Answer 11

b. Negative Punishment

Question 12

• Adding something good to increase a behavior (e.g., giving treats to a dog when it follows orders)

Answer 12

c. Positive Reinforcement

Question 13

• Taking away something bad to increase a behavior (e.g., taking off an electric shock collar of a dog when it follows orders)

Answer 13

d. Negative Reinforcement

Question 14

• The learned behavior can be reversed in the absence of reinforcement. This is called extinction. The recovery of a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus after a previously extinguished response is called spontaneous recovery.
• B.F. Skinner trained rats to push levers to obtain food or to avoid painful shocks, and this is a form of operant conditioning.

Answer 14

Note

Question 15

• Another form of associative learning is spatial learning. The animal associates landmarks with a specific location. The animal then may associate that location as safe or dangerous and can return to that location. An example of spatial learning are wasps being able to associate pinecones with the location of their nest. Upon removal of the pinecones, this association is lost.

Answer 15

3. Spatial Learning

Question 16

• This is a learned behavior that allows individuals to ignore repetitive events known to be inconsequential and remain focused on other, more meaningful events. An example of this is when anemones will not react to being repeatedly poked with a stick. Usually, anemones will react when they contact something because it may be food, but the anemone will learn after being repeatedly poked with a stick that the stick is not food.

Answer 16

Habituation

Question 17

• The opposite of habituation. An increased response to a repeated stimulus.

Answer 17

Sensitization

Question 18

• This is when an animal copies the behavior of another animal without having experienced any feedback themselves. An example are when monkeys see one monkey washing off potatoes in the water, and the rest follow.

Answer 18

Observational/social Learning

Question 19

• When an animal is exposed to a new situation they have never seen before, yet they still perform a behavior that generates a positive outcome. Observational learning and insight provide a mechanism to learn new behaviors in response to unexpected events without receiving reinforcement. This reduces time for new behaviors to be acquired. An example is a chimpanzee stacking boxes to reach bananas previously out of reach.

Answer 19

Insight

Question 20

• Some behaviors appear learned but are actually innate behaviors that require maturation (e.g., birds appear to learn to fly by trial and error or by observational learning, but if raised in isolation, they will fly on their first try if physically capable. The flight ability is innate but requires physical maturation.
• Inherited behaviors evolved because they increase fitness. Innate behaviors (e.g., FAP) provide successful/dependable mechanisms to an expected event and the challenge does not need to be resolved repeatedly by every new generation. In contrast, imprinting provides flexibility in chicks. If the mother is killed prior to hatching, the chicks will imprint a new mother likely from the same species.
• Daily cycles of behavior are circadian rhythms. Learning involves adaptive responses to the environment. In higher animals, the capacity for learning is closely associated with the degree of neurological development.

Answer 20

Note

Question 21

• This is when an organism responds to stimuli similar to the original stimulus but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus.

Answer 21

Stimulus Generalization

Question 22

• This is the ability of the learning organism to differentially respond to slightly different stimuli (e.g., an animal only responding to sounds in the 990 to 1010 Hz range).

Answer 22

Stimulus Discrimination

Question 23

• This is a gradient where the further a stimulus is from the original conditioned stimulus, the lesser of the magnitude of response in the animal.

Answer 23

Generalization Gradient