comp psych intro

cognition

mental processes and activities used in perceiving, remembering, thinking, and understanding and the act of using these processes

law of parsimony

(Occam’s Razor) – look for ways of explaining complex behavior in terms of the simplest possible behavioral rules

fixed action pattern

fixed sequence of responses elicited by a specific stimulus (releaser)

• found in all members of a species

• evened to cope with consistent aspects of the environment

critical period

period in the development of an organism during which it is especially likely to learn a particular kind of behavior

• one trial learning - only one shot at imprinting

ultimate cause

Explains the function a particular trait has in terms of fitness

• how does the trait help the individuals survive or reproduce

• is the trait found in closely related species, or species with similar environments

proximate cause

Immediate cause of a particular trait

• what are the biological or environmental mechanisms that cause the trait to emerge

• how does the trait develop across the lifespan of the individual

pros of lab studies

gives control over variables to help researchers find clear cause and effect relationships

easy replication

cons of lab studies

results may not generalize to real world settings

control is needed to isolate effects of IV

provides an artificial view of behaviors

pros of field studies

Capture behavior in the natural environment

• may be the only way to examine behavior

• good starting point if little is known about the organism

cons of feels studies

more time consuming

no control over confounding variable

classical conditioning keys

behavior elicited by the US is a reflex response

the appearance of the two stimuli is dependent on the behavior

acquisition

•process of developing and strengthening a conditioned response through repeated pairings of a NS with a US

extinction

•CS is repeatedly presented in the absence of the US

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of a CR to a CS following a rest period after extinction