Animal Behavior Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is cognition
Mental processes to gain knowledge and comprehension
- thinking
- knowing
- remembering
- judging
- problem solving
- imagination
- perception
- planning
What is cognition used for
foraging choosing partners recognizing individuals avoid predators use tools transfer information
only mammals have a
neocortex
What is operant conditioning?
Forced choice experiments with two alternative choices
What does the learning curve show in the object discrimination and recognition show?
Percentage of correct choices increased per session
Trial times decreased
What are Kanizsa illusion?
Kanizsa figures illusory contour by aligning Pac-Man-shaped inducers such that the edges form a shape.
Ebbinghaus Illusion?
Relative size perception illusion
Muller-Lyer illusion?
Line fragments?sticks are the same size, one seems larger
What did Kanisza shark experiment show?
Sharks preferred the Kanisza figures in 77% or more of all transfer test trials
What did Ebbinghaus/muller-lyer fish experiment show?
Fish trained in small circles preferred the illusion of small
and vice versa
Are illussion perceived in the same way by all animals?
No
sharks and baboons dont fall for ebbinghaus
goldfish and sharks dont fall for
muller-lyer
The role of tool use in animals
Efficient access to food - chimps
Hunting - archer fish
transport- ants
cleaning nest/burrows
What is serial reversal learning?
food association is cultivated towards one of 2 possible stimulus then switched over and over
What does serial reversal learning test?
behavioral and cognitive flexibility
- ability to undo learning
- ability to develop a learning strategy
Which animals did best in learning reversal studies?
Sharks and turtles
sharks seem to have a more successful learning strategy
How are numerical abilities useful?
foraging
spatial recognition
reproduction
individual recognition
What did numerical abilities in sharks show?
They can distinguish, regardless of shape between 5:2,5:3 but not 5:4
sizes did not affect choice
Orientation and spatial memory uses
Efficient foraging mate searching recognizing territories seeking shelter predator avoidance finding home migration
Describe bird migration
Seasonal between breeding and wintering , short distance also -they use sky cues: sun and stars magnetic fields cognitive maps
What strategies do organisms use for migration?
Compass (stars and sun)
sensory cues : magnetoreception, olfaction,
ecolocation, polarized light
path inegration(vectors and cues that inform an individual of its location change relative to its starting point)
landmark learning
map learning
direction learning
Cognitive spatial maps
memory of a physical environment and the way to get there
