Chapter 2, Part 1: Elicited Behavior and Habituation

Key terms and definitions covering elicited behavior, reflexes, MAPs, sign stimuli, appetitive/aversive processes, foraging concepts, habituation, and related phenomena.

Elicited behavior

Behaviors triggered by a stimulus, often innate and not requiring prior learning; can be influenced by experience.

Unconditioned behavior

Innate, automatic responses elicited by a stimulus that do not require conditioning.

Habituation

A simple learning process where responsiveness to a repeated stimulus decreases; stimulus-specific.

Sensitization

An increase in responsiveness to a stimulus due to prior exposure or arousal.

Facial display

An elicited facial response to infant stimuli, typically invariant across cultures and not learned.

Simple reflex

A basic reflex arc involving a short neural pathway (often 2–3 neurons) from sensory input to motor output.

Orienting reflex

An attention-directing response to a triggering stimulus.

Taxis

A directional movement toward (positive taxis) or away from (negative taxis) a stimulus.

Kinesis

A non-directional change in the vigor or rate of ongoing behavior in response to a stimulus.

Jumpscare

A sudden stimulus causing a quick reflexive reaction (eye wince, scream, arm movement).

Startle

Defensive reaction to a potential threat; the acoustic startle response is triggered by loud sounds.

MAPs (Modal Action Patterns)

Sequences of behaviors initiated by a sign stimulus, typically species-specific, often requiring an underlying drive.

Sign stimulus

An eliciting stimulus that triggers a modal action pattern; can be social (conspecific) and influence the sequence.

Social sign stimuli

Sign stimuli that originate from or involve other members of the same species.

Appetitive

Situations with a valuable commodity that activate the approach system (e.g., food, mating).

Aversive

Situations involving threat that activate the avoidance system.

Foraging (appetitive components)

Early components of foraging behavior involving seeking and approaching a resource.

Consummatory behavior

Later components of a motivated sequence, such as feeding or mating, once the resource is obtained.

Sign stimuli in sticklebacks

Visual cues that trigger territorial males to court or attack—leading to species-typical behaviors.

Supernormal stimulus

An exaggerated sign stimulus that elicits a stronger response than the natural cue.

Effective stimulus

The specific feature(s) within a complex stimulus that actually trigger the response.

Stimulus specificity

Habituation is specific to the particular stimulus; changing the stimulus can reverse the habituated response.

Short-term habituation

Habituation lasting minutes to hours, with stimulus-specific reduction in responsiveness.

Long-term habituation

Habituation lasting weeks to years, still stimulus-specific and more durable.

Intertrial interval effects

The time between trials affects the rate of habituation and spontaneous recovery; shorter intervals lead to quicker habituation, while longer intervals preserve long-term changes.

Spontaneous recovery

Reappearance of a habituated response after a period without stimulus exposure, indicating short-term habituation.

Drive

Internal motivational state required for certain MAPs (e.g., hunger, mating drive) that facilitates the behavior sequence.