W2 - Animal Behaviour (Learning) [Dr. Madikiza] Flashcards
Learned behaviour attributes? (5)
- What is learned is highly dependent on the environment.
- All organisms have the ability to learn & acquire new skills.
- Brain size of an organism determines how & what they are able to learn.
- Different learning processes can overlap each other & occur simultaneously.
- How we learn is under genetic influence (bigger brain = complex learning & smaller brain = simple/limited learning).
Pro of learned behaviour?
Individual is able to modify the behaviour to suit the current environment.
Con of gene based behaviour?
Individual might not be able to modify the behaviour to suit the environment.
Learning processes attribute?
Differences between the learning processes are linked to stimuli.
Types of learning processes? (2)
- Non-associative.
- Associative.
Non-associative learning process?
= learning process that is linked to a single stimulus.
Associative learning process?
= learning process where there is a relationship between 2 stimuli.
Kinds of non-associative learning process? (2)
- Habituation.
- Sensitization.
Kinds of associative learning process? (2)
- Classical conditioning.
- Operant conditioning.
Sensitization?
=
Things to note about habituation & sensitization?
- It’s important to first sensitize to habituate well.
Ways that learning can occur/How can learning occur? (7)
- Habituation.
- Classical conditioning.
- Operant conditioning.
- Spatial learning.
- Insight learning.
- Social learning.
- Play.
Habituation?
= simple form of learning that involves the loss of responsiveness to stimulus that conveys little or no information.
Habituation attributes? (2)
- Animal learns not to respond to stimulus due to frequent encounter without important consequence.
- For an animal to habituate, it has to be exposed to the same stimulus.
Eg of Habituation?
Bird stops responding to alarm call from conspecifics, if calls are not followed by an actual attack.
Classical conditioning?
= when an individual learns to associate an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus but receives no benefits from doing so.
Classical conditioning attributes? (2)
- Animal learns to give a response normally elicited by one stimulus to a new stimulus because the two stimuli are repeatedly paired.
- Has prerequisites/criteria to be done well.
Prerequisites/Criteria for classical conditioning to be achieved? (3)
- Order of presentation is important (CS must precede US).
- Time interval between the CS & US is important (abt 0.5s).
- Signal must be specific (CS must precede US more often than it does other stimuli).
Why is time interval between the CS & US important?
It’s because extinction of the association may occur if it’s more than 0.5s.
Unconditioned stimulus (US)?
= stimulus which “naturally” elicits an unconditioned response.
Eg of an US?
Food is an unconditioned stimulus which elicits a salivating response in dogs.
Classical conditioning is AKA?
Pavlovian conditioning.
Operant conditioning?
= associative learning in which an animal learns to associate one of its behaviours with a reward or punishment.
Operant conditioning is AKA? (2)
- Instrumental conditioning.
- Trial-and-error learning.
