3.9 Interactions Between Innate and Learned Flashcards
(31 cards)
differentiate grasshoppers and locusts
THEYRE THE SAME SPECIES AND ARE GENETICALLY IDENTICAL - their phenotype is different so different expression of same genes
* look different sometimes
* swarming behaviours
outline Crabbe et al’s findings about environmental effects on behaviour using 3 different labs
- put mice into an arena and looked at ambulatory behaviour in 3 different labs
- rigorous control of all variables apart from lab location
- gave some of them cocaine
FINDINGS - no cocaine: subtle differences between behaviours in diff environments
- cocaine: some behaviours really increased based on lab, some decreased–> cocaine + diff location = more variation
why are locusts… like that and what does it tell us about epigenetics
- high population density w low food resources = grasshopper –> locust
- adopting aggressive swarming behaviours increases survival chance
- epigenetic modification can occur very quickly
what did cooper + Zubek do in their study about bright/dull rats and environmental modulation
wanted to see if enriching/restricted environments would affect cognitions for populations w different genetic backgrounds
* dull rats’ error rate DECREASED after putting into enriching environment
* bright rats’ error rate INCREASED after putting into restricted environment
- so genetic background of individuals can modulate the effect of the environmental
define ethology and who are our main players
ethology: science of animal behaviour, social interactions - focuding on empirical field studies with animals in natural settings
* Konrad Lorenz (david attenborough) 1903-1989
* Nikolaas Tinbergen, 1907-1988
What is a fixed action pattern
- a pattern of behaviour arising fully-formed without exposure/learning
- occurs as a result of a biologically significant stimulus
- once begun, the behaviour is completed
What is a sign stimulus? give an example
- specific feature of a stimulus that triggers a fixed action pattern
- stippleback fish sees EYE AND RED BELLY - that’s all they need as a sign stimulus to start FAP
what were sign stimuli later called?
innate releasing mechanisms
describe what makes something cute. do other mammals show this?
face takes up small proportion of head, eyes lower, small mouth. consistent across all mammals - youth are ‘cute’
what are supernormal stimuli? give some modern examples
- supernormal stimulus: exaggerates features of sign stimulus to exaggerate response
- makeup, pornography
describe Tinbergen’s hierarchical model of instinctive behaviour
- instinctive behaviour controlled through multi-levelled structure
what’s in the top level of tinbergen’s diagram?
general motivational systems - hunger, aggression, reproductive instinct
* influenced by internal states e.g. hormones, circadian rhythm
* motivations build an energy that seeks release
what’s in the middle level of tinbergen’s diagram
specific action patterns - selected once motivation reaches a threshold (channel the energy/drive somewhere)
* competing behaviours are inhibited are inhibited until dominant motivation wins
what’s on the bottom level of tinbergen’s diagram?
FAPs - triggered in response to sign stimuli
(FAP with ur bottom) `
outline some criticism of ‘instinctive’ behaviours
- development: many innate patterns of behaviour require mastery of OTHER earlier behavioural sequences earlier in development - e.g. have to be able to walk before u can fuck
- species-typical innate behaviours can be modified by experience - song-learning in birds can be modified depending on what it hears
- application to human behaviours strained - little evidence of human FAPs, but if they do it’s because of cute babies (im sorry)
what does Lorenz’s MOTHER status tell us about critical periods for learning?
- introduced idea of limited windows in early development when certain types of learning must occur
- imprinting in birds: newly hatched goslings just follow whatever the first moving thing they see is (mother lorenz)
- time-limited (if not acquired, behaviour may not develop normally)
- srelatively insensitive to later experience/training
what does imprinting tell us about learning?
- not always gradual or flexible - just depend on innate timing mechanisms and specific environmental input
define equipotentiality in conditioning and contextualise it in classical conditioning
(false) idea that any stimulus can be equally associated with any outcome.
classical: all neutral stimuli (light, tone, taste) have same potential to become CS when paired w US
what are the key assumptions of equipotentiality in conditioning under classical conditioning
- brain is a general-purpose learning device
- learning depends mainly on contiguity and repetition
- conditioning is equally as effective regardless of stimuli used
what do we now know about equipotentiality in conditioning? how?
- ‘tis not right :((
- taste aversion studies showed this form of learning operated by very different rules, as flavours can be assoc w illness over very long inter-stimulus intervals and low contiguity
outline Garcia and Koelling’s experiment about tasty poison licking
- mice were given audio-visual stimuli as they drank sweetened water
- either given a shock (produce fear) or poisoned afterwards
- the training condition (poisoned/shocked) differed depending on whether taste or AV cues were present
- mice who were shocked didn’t drink as much when shown AV cues, but drank normally in presence of taste
- mice who were poisoned didn’t drink as much when water was sweet, but ignored AV cues
- SO: fear more easily paired w AV cues
- caution of poison more easily paired w taste
what does garcia + koelling’s experiment tell us about ease of pairing stimuli? what does this contradict about equipotentiality?
shows preferential associations between classes of stimuli e.g. ingestive cues preceding illness are easily associated
- contradicts assumption that condition is equally effective regardless of stimuli used
outline Seligman’s 1917 preparedness theory. how does this relate to humans?
- organisms are biologically predisposed to form certain associations more easily based on evolutionary relevant
- phobias of ancestral threats condition form more easily + resist extinction
- humans: more scared of snakes, spiders rather than motor vehicles which ACTUALLY cause the most harm
how do motivational drives affect instrumental learning? use the pig example
- when cues become association with motivational drives, the organism can over-value that cue and not enact any other behaviours with it
- training pig to pick up coin and put into piggy bank:
- using shaping: rewarded w food for picking up coin, so coin becomes food-relevant.
- pig doesn’t let go of coin because it’s now food-relevant
