ANB 384 Animal Learning and Behavior Exam 1

Intrinsic Motivation

Internal motivation that doesn't go away

Motivation

Internal drive to accomplish a goal

Hindsight Bias

Tendency to see past events as more predictable than they actually are

Imaginative Thinking

Ability to form new ideas, images, and concepts beyond reality

Empiricism

Logical argumentation applied to the world around us

Scientific Attitude

Skepticism, humility, & curiosity

Hard Sciences

Chemistry, physics, biology, physiology, & engineering

Ultimate Questions

Ask why behaviors occur

Proximate Questions

Ask how behaviors occur

Epistemology

Study of our knowledge and its origins

Bias

Systematic distortion of reality

Between Group Experimental Design

2+ independent groups of participants are compared to compare differences in performance of various groups

Control Condition

Group does not receive relevant training but is treated identically to experimental group otherwise

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured in an experiment to assess the effect of the independent variable

Evolution

Behavioral change over many generations

Experimental Condition

Participants in this group are provided with the experimental experience

Experimental Observation

Measuring behavior under conditions designed to test factors that might influence learning

Fatigue

Short term decrease in behavior due to over-repetition performance of the behavior

General-process Approach

Assumes similar processes across learning situations

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated in an experiment to observe its effect on the dependent variable.

Learning

Relatively permanent change in behavior because of an experience

Maturation

Natural change within a lifetime

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and measuring behavior as it occurs under natural conditions

Performance

The observable actions of a learner

Practice

Repetition of a response or behavior to improve performance

Single Case Experimental Design

Learning is investigated through extensive observation of the behavior of a single individual

Ethics

Morality of how we make deicsions

Ethics 1

Personal view of what is right/wrong etc.

Ethics 2

Study of what society believes is right/wrong

Laws

Legal enforcement of what society sees as fair and moral

Rene Decartes

Focused on logical arguments to take welfare ideas and reform them; viewed animals as machines

Vivisection

Cutting open live animals

Magendie and Bernard

Justified vivisection because animals are machines so they aren't in pain

Absolute Dominionism

View that it doesn't matter what you do to animals because they are machines and can't feel pain

Anthropocentric Consequentialism

View that you can perform vivisections on only stray animals because they don't matter, but not pets

Jeremy Bentham

Viewed animals as beings that could suffer and developed utilitarianism

Utilitarianism

Integrating ethics into law and legislation

Cruelty to Animals Act

Set limits on animal experimentation and required permits and licenses to have lab animals

Laboratory Animal Welfare Act

All experiments involving vertebrate animals must be overseen by APHIS and IACUC to set mimimum standards for animal use

Appetitive Behavior

Investigative, goal-seeking behavior phase

Behavior System

Sequence of response modes and corresponding behavioral control mechanisms that are activated in a coordinated manner to achieve particular functions

Consummatory Behavior

Goal-oriented behavior phase

Elicited Behavior

Specific behavior that reliably occurs by a specific stimulus

Ethology

The scientific study of animal behavior, particularly in natural environments

Focal Search Mode

Response mode in the feeding system that is activated once a potential source of food has been identified

General Search Mode

Initial response mode of the feeding system in which the organism reacts to general features of the environment that could be potential food

Hydraulic Model

Assumes certain factors lead to a buildup particular type of motivation

Modal Action Pattern

Instinctual behavior that is typically species specific

Reflex

Unit of elicited behavior involving specific environmental events and corresponding elicited responses

Reflex Arc

The path from the sensory system to the interneuron system to the motor neuron system

Releasing Stimulus

Another term for a sign stimulus which is a feature that elicits a MAP

Shaping

New forms of behavior produced by reinforcing successive approximations to behavior

Sign Stimulus

Limited stimulus feature that is sufficient to elicit modal action patterns

Species-Typical Behavior

Behavior that is characteristic of most members of a particular species

Successive Approximation

Small steps that build upon the next step

Afferent neuron

Transmits messages from sensory organs to the CNS

Efferent neuron

Transmits messages from interneurons to muscles

Interneuron

CNS neuron that transmits messages sensory signals to motor neurons

Motor neuron

A type of efferent neuron that specifically controls muscle contractions and movements.

Sensory neuron

A neuron that responds to sensory stimuli and transmits this information to the central nervous system.

Non-associative learning

Occurs when an organism is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus

Habituation effect

Stimulus shifts to neutral and doesn't elicit a response due to over-repeated exposure

Sensitization effect

Repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to an intense reaction

Dishabituation

Exposure to a second stimulus results in a recovery of the previous response that had been habituated

Orienting response

Immediate response to an unexpected stimulus

S-R system

Habituation occurs over the shortest neuron path possible

Habituation process

Sensory neuron --> Interneuron --> Motor neuron

Sensitization process

Higher brain processing occurs to process sensitization signals

Spontaneous recovery

Sudden reemergence of previously extinguished response

Startle response

Sudden movement caused by novel stimulus

State system

Sensitization occurs in more in-depth brain regions

Dual Processing Theory

Habituation and sensitization occur simultaneously and the stronger effect wins out

Aversive Stimulus

Motivating to get away from

Rewarding Stimulus

Motivating to engage with

Response Recovery

Return of a response due to a change in stimulus

Response Fatigue

Becoming unresponsive to a stimulus due to overexposure

Flooding

Overwhelming an individual with a stimulus so they can't habituate which leads to learned helplessness

Long-Term Habituation

Long-term memory of a stimulus that makes spontaneous recovery unlikely

Short-Term Habituation

Temporary decrease in stimulus over time that causes spontaneous recovery

Short-Term Habituation

Temporary decrease in stimulus over time that results in a lack of response

Long-Term Senisitization

Long-term memory of a stimulus that makes habituation unlikely

Associative Learning

Learning to connect a stimulus with a response

Appetitive Conditioning

Conditioning an individual to associate the response with a rewarding US

Autoshaping

Another name for appetitive conditioning

Aversive Conditioning

Conditioning an individual to associate an escape response with stimulus that is unpleasant

Conditioned Response (CR)

Response that is the result of a CS

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response after pairing with the US

CS-US Relevance

Facilitated learning that occurs with certain combinations of the CS and US

Discriminative Control

One CS is paired with a US and another, different, CS is presented without the US

Drug Tolerance

Impact of a drug is gradually reduced due to repeated exposure

Fear Conditioning

Another name for aversive conditioning in which an individual is conditioned to fear a particular stimulus

Goal Tracking

Directing one's attention to the location of the US

Latent Inhibition Effect

Habituation reduces the effect of a stimulus

Magazine Conditioning

Another name for goal tracking where the attention of a learner is directed towards the location of the reward delivery

Object Learning

One aspect of an object can become associated with a US

Selective Association

Learning is facilitated by certain CS-US pairings and not others

Sign Tracking

Directing one's attention directly to the CS

Taste Aversion Learning

A novel taste is followed by illness, and the individual learns an aversion to the novel taste

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Occurs without prior training to a stimulus

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Elicits a vigorous response in absence of prior training