Animal behaviour Flashcards
(41 cards)
what are simple reflexes?
♣ Reflexes are automatic responses to simple stimuli
• Recognized as reliable behavioural responses following a given environmental stimulus
where is a simple reflex controlled?
in the spinal cord–• Connects a two-neuron pathway from the receptor (afferent neuron) to the motor (efferent neuron)
o Efferent nerves innervates the effector (e.g. muscle or gland)
when is reflex behaviour important?
in the cases of lower animals–not so much high animals like vertebrates
see simple reflex arc page 210
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what are complex reflexes?
♣ Involve neural integration at a higher level of the brainstem or even the cerebrum
describe the “startle response”
• alerts an animal to a significant stimulus
o Can occur in response to potential danger or to hearing one’s name called
o Startle response involves the integration of many neurons in a system termed the reticular activating system
♣ Responsible for sleep-wake transitions and behavioural motivation
what are fixed action patterns?
complex, coordinated, innate behavioural responses to specific patterns of stimulation in the environment–• The stimulus that elicits the behaviour is termed the releaser
• Since these patterns are innate, they unlikely to be modified by learning
• An animal has a repertoire of fixed-action patterns and only a limited ability to learn new ones
• The particular stimuli that trigger fixed-action patterns are more readily modified
o Provided certain cues or elements of the stimuli are maintained
example of a fixed action pattern
o The retrieval and maintenance response of many female birds to an egg of their species (even if it’s not their own egg)–• Certain kinds of stimuli are more effective in eliciting a FAP
o E.g. an egg with the characteristics of that species will be more effective than one that only crudely resembles the natural egg
–also movement of an animal herding together; fish swimming a group or a flock of animals migrating
what are behaviour cycles?
circadian rhythms
what are circadian rhythms?
• Daily cycles of behaviour
• Animals with this behaviour lose their exact 24-hour periodicity if they are isolated from the natural phasesof light and dark
• Cyclical behaviour will still continue with approximate day-to-day phasing
o Cycle is thus initiated intrinsically but modified by external factors
• Daily cycles of eating provide a good example of cycles with both internal and external factors
o Internal controls
♣ Natural body rhythms of eating and satiation
o External controls
♣ Include the elements of the environment that occur in the familiar cyclic pattern
• Such as dinner bells and clocks
• Sleep and wakefulness are obvious examples of cyclic behaviour
These behaviour patterns have been associated with particular patterns of brain waves
environmental rhythms
♣ In many situations, patterns of behaviour are established and maintained mainl by periodic environmental stimuli
• E.g. humans’ response to traffic light signals
Just as environmental stimuli influence many naturally occurring bio rhythms, bio factors influence behaviour governed by periodic enviro stimuli
what is learning?
adaptive responses to the environment–occurs to some extent in all animals
what is the predominant determinant of behavioural patterns in lower animals?
instinctual or innate behaviour
♣ Capacity for learning adaptive responses is closely correlated with the degree of neurologic development
i.e. capcity of the nervus sytem (esp cerebral cortex) for flexibility and plasticity
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what is habituation?
one of the simplest learning patterns–suppression of the normal response to stimuli after a long duration of exposure to it–repeated stimuli decreases the normal response
what is spontaneous recovery?
the recovery of a once-suppressed response to stimuli (due to repeated stimulation by it)–happens when stimulus is removed for awhile or the stimulus has been modified
classical conditions–aka pavlovian conditioning–what does it involve?
Involves the association of a normally autonomic or visceral response with an environmental stimulus–♣ For this reason, the reponse learned through pavlovian conditioning is sometimes called a conditioned reflex
♣ In pavlovian conditioning, the normal, innate stimulus for a reflex is replaced by one chosen by the experimenter
what are the components in an innate reflex?
Consists of an unconditioned stimulus (food) and the response that is naturally elicited termed the unconditioned response (salivation); • Neutral stimulus
o Stimulus that will not by itself elicit the response (prior to conditioning)
o During condition, it will, along with the unconditioned stimulus, will be presented togethere
♣ Eventually the neutral stimulus will elicit the response without the unconditioned stimulus
♣ Now the bell is called the conditioned stimulus
• Conditioned reflex
o Product of conditioning
In pavlov’s experiment, it was the salivation following the previously neutral stimulus
what is conditioning?
o The establishment of a new reflex (association of stimulus with response) by the addition of a new, previously neutral stimulus to the set of stimuli that are already capable of triggering the response
what is pseudoconditioning?
o A phenomenon that can be confused with the true classical conditioning
o A critical test of conditioning is the determination of whether the conditioning process is actually necessary for the production of the response by a previously “neutral” stimulus
♣ In many cases, the “neutral” stimulus is able to elicit the response even before conditioning
♣ Therefore not even a neutral stimulus
o Can be avoided by carefully evaluating all prospective stimuli before conditioning begins
what is operant or instrumental conditioning?
♣ Involves conditioning responses to stimuli with the use of a reward or reinforcement
♣ When organism exhibits a specific behavioural pattern that the experimenter would like to see repeated, the animal is rewarded
The reinforcement/reward increases the likelihood the action will be preformed again
describe the experiments of B.F. Skinner
–• First demonstrated the principles of operant conditioning and reinforcement
• In the original operant conditioning experiments he used the well-known “Skinner box”
o Consists of a cage with a lever or key and a food dispenser
o Food pellet delivered when animal pressed lever
♣ Depression of the lever was the operant response under study
what are the types of reinforcements?
o Positive
♣ Reward
♣ Includes providing food, light, or electrical stimulation of the animal’s brain “pleasure centres”
♣ Following P.R. animal was more likely to repeat the behaviour
• In a sense, animal has developed a positive connection with the action (response) and the reward
♣ This type of conditioning likely to be in normal habit formation
o Negative
♣ Also involves stimulating the brain’s pleasure cetnres
♣ In contrast to PR, NR links the lack of a certain behaviour with a reward
• E.g. if a bird does NOT peck on a yellow circle, it will receive food
♣ In this case animal has developed a negative sense with an action and a reward
• Thus animal has developed a positive connection with the lack of action and the reward
• Animal is less likely to perform the behaviour
o Punishment
♣ Involves conditioning an organism so that it will stop exhibiting a given behavioural pattern
♣ May involve painfully shocking an organism each time the chosen behaviour appears
♣ After punishment, the organism is less likely to repeat the action
Animal develops a negative connection between the stimulus and response
what is habit family hierarchy?
the probability of certain responses to stimuli–o E.g. a chicken may repond to light in many ways
♣ If one particular response is rewarded, that response will occur with a higher probability later on
♣ Reward strengthens a specific behavioural response and raises its order in the hierarchy
Punishment weakens a specific behavioural response and lowers its order in the hierarchy
