Chapter 2: The Substrate for Learning — Unconditioned Behaviour

Shaping: a conditioning procedure that results in new behaviours.
Elaborated upon in the second half of the course.
Produced by reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behaviour.
Changes in behaviour tend to fit with an organism’s preexisting behavioural tendencies – They occur in the context of genetic programming.
All learned behaviour reflect an interaction between training procedures and a preexisting behaviour.

Unlearned behaviours are preexisting, genetically programmed behaviours that are important components in all forms of learning – Also known as unconditioned behaviours.
The smallest unit of unconditioned behaviour is the reflex (such as blinking when someone blows in your eye… preserving out vision is genetically engrained in our brains).

The relationship between a simple response and a specific environmental event.
Example: eyeblink (simple response) after a piece of dust flies into it (specific environmental event).
A form of elicited behaviour – Any kind of behaviour (innate or learned) that is demonstrated by (or drawn out of an organism) in response to a stimulus.

Presentation of the stimulus reliably triggers the response, and the response rarely occurs without the stimulus.
But why does dust elicit a sneeze? And not a blink?

Ethology is a specialty field in biology that studies the evolution and development of functional units of behaviour.
Examples:
- Respiratory reflexes allow us to breathe
- Suckling reflexes allow newborns to drink milk
- Swallowing and digestive reflexes allow nutrients to enter the body
- Postural reflexes allow stable body positions
- Withdrawal reflexes allow for protection from injury

Simple reflexes
Complex behavioural sequences – Often comprised of a series of reflexes that need to work in concert
- Bird building nests reflexively
- Mating dance involving many steps
- Or involving many individuals, like sexual behaviour
Modal action patterns (MAPs)

Moro reflex (when baby not supported): – Throw out arms and legs, bring them back in, maybe cry
Other examples:
- Rooting (Head-turning)
- Grasp: Touch palm → clenched fist
- Babinski: Stroke foot → toes flare
- Respiratory Occlusion Reflex: Reduced airflow → head withdrawal, wipe hands in front of face, cry

An orderly sequence of reflexive behaviours typical of a particular species or group of related species — species-typical behaviour.
Examples: feeding, mating, social behaviours, territorial defense, aggression, prey capture

Typically involve the entire organism
Appear to be a thoughtful act
Have a strong genetic basis
Required for reproduction, caring for young, and protection (hibernation/migration)
Involve specific stimuli and specific responses
Occur in response to sign stimuli – Tasks that involves these are learned easier as the organism is biologically prepared
Tasks that are unrelated or contradictory to these are difficult to learn – So difficult that they may even be impossible to learn

Behaviour geared towards obtaining a specific outcome (goal) is typically organized into functionally effective sequences – e.g., foraging, finding a mate
Late in behaviour sequence - Species typical MAP, stereotyped, releasing stimulus - Interaction with ‘goal’
Appetitive behaviour ------> Consummatory behaviour
- Early in behaviour sequence - Variable, modified by learning
- ‘Brings animal in contact with stimuli that release the consummatory behaviour’

Few pure MAPS in humans – Most behaviour modified by experience – Almost all behaviour is partially learned
Yawning argued as a MAP – Once sequence of behaviour commenced hard to stop – Consistent across species