Topic 3: Development and Genetic Bases of Behaviour

Question 1

How does environment effect behavior?

Answer 1

• oftentimes there is a genetic and environmental factor for the development of a particular behavior.
• kin recognition via scent is a good example of this.
• scent recognition influences if an animal will help another animal (based on how closely related they are) as well as if they need to avoid each other during mating (to avoid inbreeding)
• this is called phenotype matching - when you can recognize the scent of your relatives cause they smell similar to you

Question 2

How do genes effect behavior?

Answer 2

• often genes effect some behaviors as well.
• in an example done with garter snakes, they Measured feeding preferences based on where they lived (costal or inland) (Costal = slugs, inland = bugs)
• As snakes grow up, are they learning these preferences, or are they passed down genetically?
• Took young naïve snakes from both locations
• Presented slugs to snakes, inland snakes ate less than costal snakes.
• Without having experienced these foods before, there was a genetic predisposition to food preference

Question 3

What is learning? What can we distinguish as NOT learning?

Answer 3

• Learning is a permanent change in behavior as a result of experience
• however, a change in behavior with experience doesn’t necessarily mean you are learning

Question 4

What are the two types of learning?

Answer 4

• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning

Question 5

What is classical conditioning? An example?

Answer 5

• classical conditioning is focused on innate behavior, the behaviors we don’t have control over.
• a behavior that becomes associated with stimuli due to repeat exposure
• stimuli is presented –> elicits response
• ex. Pavlovs dog. Rang bell every time he fed dogs, dogs started to associate food with the bell sound - so every time the bell made a noise the dogs would drool, even if food was not presented.

Question 6

What is Operant behavior?

Answer 6

• Focused on behaviors we have control over, where we can make choices
• behavior/choice is made, and as a result of that there is a consequence to the behavior.
• depending on the type of consequence, it will increase or decrease the behavior and action
• can use positive or negative reinforcement, or positive or negative punishment.

Question 7

• Reinforcement _______ behaviour
• Punishment _________ behaviour
• Positive - ________ something
  Negative - _________ something

Answer 7

• Reinforcement increases behaviour
• Punishment decreases behaviour
• Positive - adds something
• Negative - removes something

Question 8

What is positive reinforcement? Negative reinforcement?

Answer 8

Positive reinforcement:
- Lever press(response) –> food reward (reward stimuli) –> mouse will press lever more for food reward

Negative reinforcement:
- Box shocks mouse –> lever press stops the shock –> mouse will press the button more to stop the box shocking it

Question 9

What is positive punishment? Negative punishment?

Answer 9

Positive punishment:
- giving a punishing stimuli to decrease behavior
- Lever press (response) –> shock (punishing stimuli) –> mouse will not press lever

Negative punishment:
- Removing something you like to decrease behavior
- mouse does unwanted behavior –> doesn’t get food

Question 10

Why do animals learn? What is the adaptive value of learning?

Answer 10

• learning somehow increases how they survive
• benefits their access to foods, mates, etc.

Question 11

Does natural history effect how an animal learns? (example)

Answer 11

• Yes! Depending on their natural history, animals may learn in different ways and succeed in different styles of learning.
• differing food availability, necessity, and differing socialization structures all effect an animals way of learning
• ex. Jay experiment. 4 different species of jays from different living conditions. Birds with the least food availability in natural environment were the best at spatial tasks, but struggled at colour tasks
• other jays who live in big social groups and are very colourful, succeeded the most at colour tasks.

Question 12

Are their constraints on learning for animals?

Answer 12

• yes. A rat can be taught taste aversion if something makes them sick, or to hide if they associate a ringing bell with pain, but you can’t teach them to avoid a certain taste with the ringing of a bell. they wont associate the two together. You are crossing two different learning domains.

Question 13

What are the three types of induced polymorphisms?

Answer 13

food induced: food changes what behavioral pathway you go down.

Socially induced: your social group changes what behavioral pathway you go down.

Predator induced: Your predators changes what behavioral pathway you go down.

Question 14

What is an example of socially induced polymorphisms (in cichlids)

Answer 14

• 2 types of male cichlid fish: brightly colored, aggressive, territorial dominant males, and submissive males
• if one of the dominant males dies, then one of the submissive males transitions into a dominant male. Brain releases GnRH, and will cause the previously sub males to change color and become more aggressive
• As submissive males transition to dominant/territorial male, there are high levels of the gene expression in the brain.
  After transition, levels go down again