MEMORY AND LEARNING: UNIT 2 - unlearned behavior

phylogenetic/respondent behavior? 2 pts

1. a range of behaviors that aid surivival and reproduction resulting from the organism’s evolutionary history as a species

2. usually but not always unlearned

reflexes? 3 pts

1. serve defensive, protective, or survival functions

2. the eliciting/activating event is the unconditioned stimulus while the response elicited is the unconditioned response

3. reflexive behavior is autiomatic

laws of reflexes: law of threshold? 1 pt

based on the observation that at very weak intensities a stimulus will not elicit a response but as the intensitiy of the eliciting stimulus increases there is a point at which the response is elicited

laws of reflexes: law of intensity-magnitude? 1 pt

describes the relationship between the intensity of the eliciting stimulus and the size/magnitude of the elicited response; as the intensity of the US increases so does the magnitude of the elicited UR

laws of reflexes: law of latency? 1 pt

involves the time between the onset of the eliciting stimulus and the appearance of the reflecive response; as the intensity of the US increases, the latency to the appearance of the elicited UR decreases

latency- measure of the amount of time that passes between two events

sequences of behavior: fixed-action patterns/ FAP? 1 pt

sequences of behavior that are phylogenetic in origin and all meembers of a particular species engage in FAP when the appropritate releasing stimuli are presented

sequences of behavior: model-action patterns/MAP? 1 pt

more flexible version of a FAP that recognizes that behaviour often varies somewhat between individuals and situations; birds of the same species may have the same mating dance but may perform it differently

effects of successive elicitations?

1. habituation- a conserved behavioral process resulting from phylogenetic history whereby the elicited response decreases by the repetition of the stimulus

2. potentiation/facilitation- the elicited response increases by the repetition of the stimulus and is more likely to occur with aversive stimuli

3. sensitization- the eliciting effects of one stimulus are enhanced as a result of presentations of some other stimulus; one stimulus amplifies the eliciting effect of another stimulus

dual process theory? 5 pts

1. habituation and potentiation are independent processes that both compete for the control of the response as they are activated at the same time; the r esult will depend on which is stronger

2. habituation or potentiation are the sum or net result of both processes

3. habituation and sensitization occur in different parts of the NS

4. habituation occurs in the E-R system which connects sensory organs to the muscles involved and can be thought of as a reflex arc and is activated whenever the elicitng stimulus is presented (specific to a stimulus)

5. sensitization occurs in the state system that encompasses other parts of the NS to determine an organisms’s overall level of willingness/tendency to respond and is activated solely by excitatory events

theory of opponent process? 3 pts

1. intense reactions are usually biphasic; during the presence of a stimulus an emotion occurs and when the stimulus ends the opposite emotion is observed (first the happy effects are felt then the contrary effects set in)

2. they change over time as the primary reaction becomes weaker while the secondary reaction becomes stronger

3. a homeostasis theory

what is a supernormal stimulus? 1 pt

a stimulus that has more intense characteristics that animals tend to prefer to their usual stimuli e.g. when you present two eggs to a goose, one normal-sized and one bigger-than-normal egg, the goose will gravitate towards the bigger-than-normal egg and attempt to sit on it to warm it up instead of gravitating towards its usual sized egg