Unit 3 Review Flashcards
adaptation
An adjustment that an organism makes to the conditions in its environment.
allelomimetic
A term used to describe an innate tendency to follow the actions of others and to do the same thing.
anthropomorphism
The process of attributing human characteristics and abilities to animals.
baseline
A critical measurement from which a researcher can calculate changes in the rate or frequency of a particular behavior.
behaviorist
Simply put, a person who studies animal behavior under laboratory conditions.
classical conditioning
A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a stimulus that generally causes an unconditioned response. Animals learn what predicts what. Also known as respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning.
cognition
A term that refers to thinking, or what’s going on inside an organism’s head.
condition (verb)
To modify the behavior of a subject.
condition (noun)
A circumstance controlled by a researcher in a laboratory.
conditioned reflex
The combination of a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response.
conditioned response (CR)
A learned response that results from pairing a conditioned stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (US).
conditioned stimulus (CS)
A stimulus that causes a conditioned response.
consequence
An event that follows a behavior.
consummatory reflex
An involuntary response related to biological preservation and protection—that is, eating.
contingency
The dependence of one event upon another.
dependent variable
That which a researcher is interested in or is trying to explain. It usually refers to the animal’s response or change in behavior.
ethologist
A person who studies animal behavior by directly observing animals living under natural or relatively natural conditions.
explanatory fiction
A false intervening variable introduced to explain a causal relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable.
expectant behavior
The actions of an organism that clearly indicate it’s expecting a particular thing to occur.
extinction
A process by which a particular behavior decreases or disappears.
gosling
Baby goose.
habituation
The gradual reduction of a response as a result of repeated stimulation.
hyperkinetic
A term used to describe an overly active person or animal.
imprinting
The process by which a young animal bonds with another animal, usually of the same species.
independent variable
Something a researcher introduces into an experiment to see what effect it has on the dependent variable.
instrumental conditioning
A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened when it’s followed by reinforcement and weakened when it’s followed by punishment.
interspecies bond
A relationship formed between members of different species—for example, between a dog and a sheep.
intervening variable
A factor that can’t be seen but has an effect on the dependent variable in an experiment.
kinesis
An involuntary change of general activity level in response to external stimulation; a type of tropism.
latent learning
Learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement and remains hidden until the organism has a need for it.
law of effect
A theory suggested by Edward Thorndike, which states that behaviors that are followed by pleasant events are more likely to be repeated in the future. On the other hand, behaviors that are followed by unpleasant events are less likely to be repeated in the future.
learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior that results from training or experience.
learning set
A method of solving problems acquired through experience.
learning theorists
Scientists who study learning under laboratory conditions.
learning theory
The theoretical information learning theorists gather about the ways in which organisms adjust to their environments through learning.
local enhancement
The tendency of an animal to be attracted to a particular environmental stimulus or situation after watching the behavior of other animals and people in a similar situation.
modeling
The presenting of an example to an animal to encourage that animal to behave in a particular fashion.
motor learning
Acquiring the skills necessary to perform certain physical activities, such as running or climbing stairs.
negative thigmotaxis
Movement away from the source of contact stimulation.
neutral stimulus
A stimulus that normally doesn’t stimulate the response being tested.
observational learning
Learning that occurs when an animal watches another animal perform a task and then imitates the behavior.
operant conditioning
A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened when it’s followed by reinforcement and weakened when it’s followed by punishment. Operant conditioning deals with nonreflexive behavior. Also known as instrumental conditioning and Skinnerian conditioning.
organism
A living thing, such as a plant, a dog, or a person.
pairing
The presenting of a conditioned stimulus near or at the same time as an unconditioned stimulus.
Pavlovian conditioning
A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a stimulus that generally causes an unconditioned response. Animals learn what predicts what. Also known as respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning.
physiological change
A change related to the bodily functions of a living organism and its parts.
positive thigmotaxis
Movement towards the source of contact stimulation.
puzzle box
A device used by Edward Thorndike, which required an animal to perform certain operations in order to escape.
quantify
To express as a number; to measure.
radical behaviorist
A group of learning theorists who feel that the proper study of behavior should be limited to observable events—things the researcher can actually see.
reflex
An involuntary response to a stimulus.
reinforcer
Something that supports or strengthens something else. In dog training, a reinforcer is something the dog wants. A trainer can use the reinforcer to strengthen a desired behavior.
respondent conditioning
A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a stimulus that generally causes an unconditioned response. Animals learn what predicts what. Also known as respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning.
response chain
An interlocking sequence of responses that enable an organism to perform a more complicated task; a series of responses in an orderly way.
response latency
The time it takes an animal to respond to a stimulus.
response magnitude
The strength of an animal’s response to a stimulus.
retroactive punishment
Punishment directed against an action that occurred in the past. This type of punishment isn’t effective and isn’t recommended.
scientific method
A process that uses experimentation to determine what causes what.
sensitive period (for socialization)
The time in a puppy’s life (from approximately 3 weeks of age to 16 weeks of age) during which the puppy is most receptive to the process of socialization with other dogs and people.
sensitization
The process in which one stimulus causes an organism to overreact to other stimuli.
separation anxiety
Emotional distress associated with separation from the owner.
Skinnerian conditioning
A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened when it’s followed by reinforcement and weakened when it’s followed by punishment. Operant conditioning deals with nonreflexive behavior. Also known as instrumental conditioning and Skinnerian conditioning.
social facilitation
The increased vigor of response that one dog causes in the behavior of another.
social learning
Learning that occurs when an animal interacts with people and with other animals.
socialization
A process by which puppies are familiarized with a variety of people and other dogs.
startle response
The way in which an animal responds to a sudden new and/or intense stimulus.
stereotypic
A term used to describe an action that’s performed the same way each time with little variation.
subject
The organism being studied in an experiment.
surprise
An event that’s different from what the subject expects.
taxis
An involuntary response that involves movement of the entire organism toward or away from the source of stimulation; a type of tropism.
thigmotaxis
A movement of an organism in response to contact with some solid object.
threshold
The level of stimulation that must be reached for a response to occur.
tropism
An involuntary bodily adjustment to external stimulation. See also kinesis, taxis, positive thigmotaxis, and negative thigmotaxis.
unconditioned reflex
The combination of an unconditioned stimulus and an unconditioned response.
unconditioned response (UR)
A reflexive response to an unconditioned stimulus.
unconditioned stimulus (US)
A stimulus that causes a specific reflexive response without requiring learning, or conditioning.
variable
Any factor in an experiment that changes or can be changed; a characteristic that can occur in different amounts or kinds.
