ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

reflexes

automatic responses to simple stimuli, recognized as reliable behavioural responses to environmental stimuli

important for lower animals, less important in vertebrates (higher forms of life)

simple reflex

controlled at the spinal cord, connecting a receptor (afferent neuron) to the motor (efferent neuron)

efferent neuron innervates the effector (eg. muscle or gland)

complex reflex

involve neural integration at a higher level of the brainstem or even the cerebrum

eg. startle response in animals is to a significant stimulus - occurs to danger or name

reticular activating system

involved in the startle response in animals, the integration of many neurons, responsible for sleep-wake transitions and behavioral motivation

fixed-action patterns

complex, coordinated, innate behavioural responses to specific patterns of stimulation in the environment, relatively unlikely to be modified by learning

stimulus is more readily modified, provided certain cues or elements of the stimuli are maintained, eg. retrieval and maintenance response of many female birds to an egg of their species

certain stimuli are more effective than others for this response, eg. characteristics of an egg or characteristic movements made by birds in flocks or fish in schools

releaser

the stimulus that elicits behaviour

circadian rhythms

daily cycles of behaviour (24 hours), can be lost if animals are isolated from light and dark cycles (instead will be approximate behaviour), cycle is initiated intrinsically but modified by external factors

cycles of eating, satiation, sleep, wakefulness (internal and external factors), sleep associated with brain waves

environmental stimuli

establish and maintain patterns of behaviour, eg. traffic light signals

influence many naturally occurring biological rhythms and behaviour

adaptive responses

learned behaviour in response to the environment, more prominent in higher animals (minor role in lower animals)

capacity for learning is closely correlated with the degree of neurologic development (nervous system capacity, cerebral cortex, for flexibility and plasticity)

habituation

one of the simplest learning patterns involving the suppression of the normal start response to stimuli

repeated stimulation results in decreased responsiveness to that stimulus but if that stimulus is no longer regularly applied, the response can be recovered (spontaneous recovery)

spontaneous recovery

if a stimulus is no longer regularly applied, the response can be recovered

recovery of the response can also occur with modification of the stimulus

classical conditioning

aka Pavlovian - involves the association of a normally autonomic or visceral response with an environmental stimulus (a conditioned reflex)

eg. the salivation reflex in dogs in response to a bell

Ivan Pavlov

worked on digestive physiology for dogs’ salivation reflex, bell (arbitrary stimulus) with food led to salivation, conditioned so that a bell alone would lead to salivation

salivation reflex

an unconditioned response to food in dogs

arbitrary stimulus

eg. the bell, a random stimulus that can elicit a unconditioned response even though it is not like the unconditioned stimulus

unconditioned stimulus

the food that would elicit an unconditioned response (salivation)

neutral stimulus

the bell that would not elicit the response by itself

eventually will be able to elicit the response in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (will become a conditioned stimulus)

conditioned reflex

the product of the conditioned experience, eg. salivation in response to a bell

conditioning

Pavlov’s definition - 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

pseudoconditioning

can be confused with true classical conditioning - occurs when the “neutral stimulus” is not actually neutral, and can elicit the response even before conditioning

must evaluate all prospective stimuli before conditioning begins

operant conditioning

or instrumental conditioning, involves conditioning responses to stimuli with the use of reward or reinforcement to increase the likelihood that the behaviour will reappear

can be used for visceral and voluntary responses

first demonstrated by B.F. Skinner

positive reinforcement

reward includes providing food, light, or pleasure to encourage an animal to repeat the desired behavioural response

positive connection to the behaviour and the reward

negative reinforcement

reward is removing something unpleasant, eg. putting on your seatbelt stops the car’s alarm, to encourage the animal to repeat the desired behavioural response

positive connection to the behaviour and the removal of something unpleasant

punishment

conditioning an organism so that it will stop exhibiting a behaviour by implementing a negative stimulus

can involve pain, shock

negative connection to the behaviour and the response, less likely to repeat the behaviour

habit family hierarchy

a stimulus has many possible responses, each with a different probability of occurrence, which can be ordered

a rewarded response is more likely to occur and a punishment weakens that response’s probability

extinction

the gradual elimination of conditioned responses in the absence of reinforcement (the unlearning of the response pattern)

operant = inhibited in the absence of reinforcement, will reappear if the reinforcement is returned

classical = occurs when the stimulus was never fully paired with the conditioned stimulus

stimulus generalization

the ability of a conditioned organism to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus

eg. bell at 1000 Hz, dog may respond to a pitch slightly higher or lower

stimulus discrimination

the ability of the learning organism to respond differentially to slightly different stimuli

a very specific tone, organism will not respond to stimuli that are outside the specific range of tone

stimulus generalization gradient

established after the organism has been conditioned, whereby stimuli further and further away from the original conditioned stimulus elicit responses with decreasing magnitude

imprinting

a process in which environmental patterns or objects presented to a developing organism during a brief critical period in early life become accepted permanently as an element of its behavioural environment

eg. ducklings follow their mother because it’s the first moving thing they see, but the mother can be replaced with something else

critical period

specific time periods during an animal’s early development when it is physiologically able to develop specific behavioural patterns

if the proper environmental pattern is not present, the behaviour will not properly develop

can be visual

visual critical period

if light is not present during the critical period, visual effectors will not develop properly

intraspecific interactions

occurs as a means of communication between members of a species

behavioural displays

can be defined as an innate behaviour that has evolved as a signal for communication between members of the same species

can be a song, a call, or intentional change in physical characteristics

reproductive, antagonistic, or can be used to convey information about the location of food (eg. honeybees dancing)

reproductive displays

specific behaviours found in all animals, including humans, function as signals in preparation for mating

antagonistic displays

specific behaviours that function to reduce physical harm to the animal, aggressive behaviours to intimidate predators or rivals

eg. puffing up chest, raise feathers

pecking order

social hierarchy, the relationships among members of the same species living as a contained social group become stable for a period of time

dominant members prevail over subordinate ones for food, mates, territory, etc.

minimizes violent intraspecific aggressions by defining stable relationships among members of the group

territoriality

areas typically occupied by a male or male-female pair and are used for feeding, mating, nesting

distributes members of the species so resources are not depleted, also reduces intraspecific competition

olfactory sense

smelling - immensely important as a means of communication in many animals

pheromones

secreted by animals which influence the behaviour of other members of the same species, two types

releaser pheromones

trigger a reversible behavioural change in the recipient

eg. sex-attractant pheromones, or alarm or toxic defensive substances

primer pheromones

produce long-term behavioural and physiological altercations in receiving animals

eg. pheromones from male mice may affect estrous cycles of females

important in social insects where they regulate role determination and reproductive capabiliites