WEEK 2: CAUSATION AND ONTOGENY Flashcards
How does a neuroendocrine response to a stimuli work?
Nervous system (CNS, PNS, ANS) provide a quick response.
Endocrine system (hormones) is a slow and lasting response.
How does experimental learning work?
Learned responses and cognitive responses both contribute to experimental learning, which is the increase or decrease of a instinctive response depending on the animals experience.
What are the internal factors that cause behaviour?
Biological rhythms, daily time schedules reset by zeitgebers (time-givers).
Cues from physiological states. Can be homeostatic (to keep homeostasis going as normal) or non-homeostatic (breeding or courtship for example)
What are the external factors that cause behaviour?
Abiotic factors/non-living factors (i.e.) water, soil, temperature, humidity
Biotic factors/living factors (i.e.) the ecosystem, food chains. An example of changing behaviour due to population density- this is the locus which starts of green but the hairs on its legs detect a dense environment and turns it brown and allows in to fly.
What are the context-dependant factors that cause behaviour and how does this have a fitness benefit?
Animal is able to differentiate between stimuli so it can choose the most appropriate response. This saves energy and therefore increases survival.
What is the process of behavioural change over an individuals lifetime?
concrete experience -> reflective observation -> abstract conceptualisation (understanding what they’ve seen) -> active experimentation (trying it out)
What is a fixed action pattern?
Fixed action patterns are behavioural sequences that occur as a result of innate releasing mechanisms. For example, when a dog sees a cat running away from them, they have an instinctive response to chase the cat.
What is a sign stimulus?
the determining feature of a stimulus that produces a response
describe innate behaviour
instincts animal is born with
describe maturation as a way of behaviour developing
innate behaviour starting to be adapted at predictable stages of animals life/ exploration
describe chance as a way of behaviour developing and give example
by specific environmental events occurring at crucial point for example temperature affects the sex of turtle hatchlings
describe self-learning as a way of behaviour developing and give example
repent/ change behaviour in response to experienced outcomes (i.e.) skinners box with rats is conditioning
describe learning from others as a way of behaviour developing
SLT
describe insight learning as a way of behaviour developing
immediate and clear learning or understanding that takes place without overt trial-and-error testing.
