Respondent conditioning
What is the difference between elicited and emitted behavior? Elicited behavior refers to responses that are reliably produced by a specific stimulus. This relationship is known as a reflex. For example, a loud noise eliciting a startle response. Emitted behavior, on the other hand, occurs spontaneously without any observable or identifiable external eliciting stimulus. It is not a reaction to an immediate event; it arises from within the organism.
What is a reflex, and what are its key properties? A reflex is a reliable relationship between a specific stimulus and a particular response. It is not simply the stimulus or the response itself but rather the connection between them. Key properties of a reflex include:
Elicitation: The stimulus elicits or brings about the response. The response is not said to elicit the stimulus.
Threshold: There's a minimum intensity or quantity of stimulus needed to trigger a response. This is not a fixed value but is a statistical summary based on how often the stimulus will elicit a response.
Latency: The time period between the presentation of a stimulus and the onset of the response.
Magnitude and Duration: Reflex strength is associated with how large the magnitude of the response is as well as how long the response lasts.
How are probabilities used to describe stimulus-response relations? Instead of just noting that a response follows a stimulus, we use probabilities to quantify how likely a response is, both with and without the stimulus. This allows us to determine if the stimulus actually causes or influences the response. The probability is measured as the proportion of times an event occurs out of the total opportunities for it to occur. A probability of 1.0 means the response always occurs when the stimulus is present, and 0.0 means it never occurs. Conditional probabilities are also used to analyze relationships, considering the likelihood of one event given the presence or absence of another. For instance, the probability of a blink given a puff of air to the eye.
What is the difference between excitation and inhibition in stimulus-response relations?
Excitation: Occurs when a stimulus increases the probability of a particular response. This is the typical pattern seen in a reflex relation. For example, the stimulus of food in the mouth increases salivation.
Inhibition: Occurs when a stimulus decreases the probability of a response. An example is a strange bird inhibiting contentment calls in a duckling.
What are habituation and potentiation, and how do they affect responses to stimuli?
Habituation: Refers to a decrease in response strength (magnitude or duration) that occurs over successive presentations of the same stimulus. An example of this is a decreased startle response to repeated loud noises.
Potentiation: This is the opposite of habituation; it is an increase in the response to a stimulus with repeated presentations. Electric shocks to a rat, which get more of a squeal response with each exposure, demonstrate potentiation.
Both habituation and potentiation are temporary; after a period of time without the stimulus, the response typically returns to its earlier levels.
How does the concept of emitted behavior challenge traditional reflex-based views? The traditional view of behavior, centered on reflexes, assumed that all behavior was caused by specific eliciting stimuli. The concept of emitted behavior challenges this by asserting that responses can occur spontaneously, without any immediate, identifiable trigger. This realization paved the way for understanding operant or instrumental behavior, which is primarily determined by consequences rather than by prior stimuli. Understanding emitted behavior allows analysis of actions that are seemingly driven by internal factors or broader contextual influences, moving beyond simply stimulus-response relationships.
What role does "exercise" or repeated elicitation play in the emergence of emitted behavior? Repeatedly eliciting a response may increase the likelihood that the response will occur even in the absence of an eliciting stimulus. This is akin to "exercise" or "practice," as repeated elicitation can strengthen responses over time. Although not consistently or universally, some examples include escape responses in fish and the ability of a child to suckle from a mother. The emphasis on understanding the origins of behaviors in particular cases, acknowledging they may be elicited or emitted, supersedes the creation of universal formal laws.
What is imprinting, and how does it illustrate changes in the significance of stimuli? Imprinting is a process where a young animal forms a strong attachment to the first moving object it encounters, typically its mother. During the initial presentation of this stimulus, response probabilities don't change; it's not elicitation. However, the stimulus becomes significant, acquiring reinforcing properties. It's not just about following. The key isn't that the imprinted stimulus elicits responses. Instead, its importance reinforces behaviors that keep it near, changing the stimulus's function from neutral to rewarding. Imprinting demonstrates that stimuli can gain or change significance through experience, beyond simple elicitation, and this change influences subsequent behavior.
Elicited and Emitted Behavior: A Study GuideQuiz
Instructions: Answer each question in 2-3 sentences.
How did Descartes’ understanding of reflexes relate to the hydraulic devices in the royal gardens of France?
What is the key difference between a reflex and simply observing a stimulus followed by a response?
How are the properties of latency, magnitude, and duration related to reflex strength?
What is the meaning of "threshold" in the context of eliciting stimuli, and why is it considered a statistical summary?
Explain the concept of conditional probability in the context of stimulus-response relations, and provide an example.
Describe how a stimulus can have an inhibitory effect on a response and provide a concrete example from the text.
What is the critical difference between elicited and emitted responses, and why is it important for studying behavior?
How does habituation differ from potentiation regarding repeated stimulus presentations?
Briefly describe what imprinting is and how it differs from typical reflex relations.
How do establishing operations change the significance of a stimulus, and how might this be related to the concept of motivation or drive?
Answer Key
Descartes saw a similarity between the garden's hydraulic systems, where a step on a hidden plate triggered the movement of statues, and reflexes, where a stimulus triggers a response in living organisms. He proposed that nerves and animal spirits served a similar function to pipes and water in these systems.
A reflex is defined as a reliable relation between a stimulus and a response. Observing a stimulus followed by a response is not sufficient to label it a reflex, we must know the probability of the response in both the presence and absence of the stimulus.
Reflex strength is a concept combining latency, magnitude, and duration. A weak reflex has long latency, small magnitude, and short duration, while a strong reflex has short latency, large magnitude, and long duration.
Threshold refers to the minimum magnitude or intensity of a stimulus necessary to elicit a response. It is a statistical summary rather than a fixed value, as responses can vary based on stimulus parameters.
Conditional probability expresses the likelihood of an event (a response) given the presence or absence of another event (a stimulus). For example, p(R/S) represents the probability of a response given a stimulus, while p(R/no S) represents the probability of the response without the stimulus.
A stimulus can have an inhibitory effect by lowering the probability of a response. For instance, the presence of a strange bird might inhibit contentment calls in a duckling.
Elicited responses are those triggered by a specific stimulus, while emitted responses occur without any observable eliciting stimulus. Understanding the distinction is vital because emitted responses are important for the study of operant behavior and learning through consequences.
Habituation is a decrease in response to repeated stimuli, while potentiation is an increase in response to repeated stimuli. Habituation is common with startle reactions, while potentiation is more common with aversive stimuli like electric shocks.
Imprinting is a process where an animal, such as a duckling, forms an attachment to the first moving object it sees. Unlike reflexes, the presentation of the imprinted stimulus does not directly elicit a response, but instead establishes a stimulus that is critical to the duckling, which could then reinforce other behaviors.
Establishing operations alter the reinforcing or aversive properties of stimuli, thus changing their significance. For example, food deprivation makes food more reinforcing, relating it to motivation or drive as these variables influence how significant a stimulus becomes.
Essay Questions
Discuss the concept of the reflex as the basic unit of behavior, considering both its contributions and limitations in understanding complex actions.
Compare and contrast the properties of elicited behavior, including response latency, magnitude, duration, and threshold values. In what ways do these properties demonstrate the relation between stimulus and response?
Analyze how conditional probabilities allow for a more nuanced description of stimulus-response relations, moving beyond simple descriptions of cause and effect. Provide specific examples of the role conditional probabilities play in understanding behavior.
Explore the distinction between elicited and emitted behaviors, particularly regarding their origins and implications for how we understand actions and behaviors. In your argument, address some potential complexities.
Explain the roles of habituation, potentiation, and establishing operations in understanding how stimulus presentations change behavior over time, and how these concepts contribute to our understanding of motivation.
Glossary of Key Terms
Reflex: A reliable relation between a stimulus and the response it produces, the basic unit of elicited behavior.
Elicited Response: A response that is reliably produced by a specific stimulus.
Eliciting Stimulus: A stimulus that reliably produces a specific response.
Emitted Response: A response that occurs without any identifiable eliciting stimulus, considered spontaneous behavior.
Response Latency: The time elapsed between the presentation of a stimulus and the onset of the elicited response.
Reflex Strength: The combined properties of latency, magnitude, and duration of an elicited response. Strong reflexes tend to have short latency, high magnitude, and long duration.
Threshold: The minimum magnitude or intensity of a stimulus necessary to elicit a response, considered a statistical summary rather than a fixed value.
Conditional Probability: The probability of an event occurring given the presence or absence of another event. E.g. p(R/S), the probability of a response given a stimulus.
Excitation: A stimulus-response relation in which a stimulus increases the probability of a response.
Inhibition: A stimulus-response relation in which a stimulus decreases the probability of a response.
Habituation: A decrease in the magnitude or probability of an elicited response due to repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus.
Potentiation: An increase in the magnitude or probability of an elicited response due to repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus.
Sensitization: The enhancement of the eliciting effects of one stimulus as a result of presentations of some other stimulus.
Fixed Action Pattern: An all-or-none response that, once initiated, occurs fully and follows a complete course, generally does not vary with properties of the stimulus.
Kinesis: A form of orientation where the direction of movement is random, not directed towards or away from a stimulus, but movement stops once a desired environment is reached by chance.
Taxis: A form of orientation where the direction of movement is either towards or away from a stimulus, typically following a gradient.
Imprinting: A process by which a young animal forms an attachment to the first moving object it sees, which then becomes a highly significant reinforcer.
Establishing Operation: An environmental or organic variable that changes the reinforcing or aversive properties of a stimulus. Also changes the relative frequency of various behaviors.
Polydipsia: An increase in drinking behavior, typically brought on by an adjunctive behavior.
Adjunctive Behavior: A behavior that reliably accompanies another behavior (usually, a response is seen as the adjunctive behavior accompanying another response).
Briefing Document: Elicited and Emitted BehaviorIntroduction
This document summarizes key concepts from Chapter 4 of "Catania Learning," which explores the fundamental distinction between elicited and emitted behavior. The chapter traces the historical roots of these concepts, examining the reflex as a core unit of analysis and then moving towards the understanding of behavior that occurs independent of an immediate eliciting stimulus. The chapter also discusses how the significance of stimuli can change over time and introduces concepts like habituation, potentiation and imprinting.
Key Themes and Ideas:
Elicited Behavior and the Reflex:
Historical Roots: The concept of the reflex is traced back to René Descartes, who compared it to hydraulic devices where stepping on a trigger causes a statue to move. This analogy highlights the idea that a stimulus directly causes a response, like a trigger and reaction.
"Just as a step on the concealed plate triggered the movement of a statue. a stimulus triggers a response"
Definition: The reflex is defined not as the stimulus or the response itself, but as the relation between them. It's a reliable connection where a stimulus elicits a particular response.
"The reflex is neither stimulus nor response; it is the relation between them"
Eliciting Stimulus and Elicited Response: A stimulus that reliably produces a response is called an eliciting stimulus, and the response is called an elicited response.
Properties of Reflexes:Threshold: A stimulus must be above a certain threshold to elicit a response. This threshold is not fixed, and it varies with the intensity of the stimulus.
Latency: The time between the stimulus and the response is called response latency.
Magnitude and Duration: Responses have magnitude and duration which contribute to what's sometimes called reflex strength.
Energy Source: The stimulus acts as a "trigger," releasing energy already available within the organism.
"The eliciting effect of a stimulus doesn't depend on a direct transfer of energy environment to organism; rather, observed Sechenov, the stimulus is a trigger, releasing energy that the organism already has available in muscles or glands or other structures."
Limitations of Reflexes: While fundamental, the reflex is not the only explanation of behavior. Complex behaviors cannot be solely explained as chains of reflexes.
"The concept of the reflex has its place but its scope is limited. It cannot stand alone."
Probability and Conditional Probability:
Beyond Simple Cause-Effect: It is not enough to know that a response follows a stimulus to label something as a reflex. We also have to know how likely the response is without the stimulus.
"Furthermore, simply noting that a response reliably follows a stimulus isn't enough to justify talking about reflexes. We must also know how likely the response is without the stimulus."
Probabilities: The effect of stimuli is best described quantitatively using probabilities or relative frequencies. A probability is the proportion of times an event occurs compared to the number of times it could have occurred. For instance, p(R) = #responses / #opportunities.
Conditional Probabilities: To truly understand the effect of a stimulus, we must consider conditional probability: the probability of a response given the presence or absence of a stimulus.
p(R/S) = probability of the response (R) given the presence of the stimulus (S).
p(R/no S) = probability of the response (R) given the absence of the stimulus (S).
Excitation and Inhibition: Stimuli can either increase (excitation) or decrease (inhibition) the probability of a response.
Stimulus-Response Relations:
Complex Interactions: Behavior involves multiple stimuli and responses and any given stimulus can affect different responses in different ways.
Graphical Representation: Stimulus-response relations can be plotted on a graph, with the y-axis representing response probability given a stimulus (p(R/S)) and the x-axis representing response probability given no stimulus (p(R/no S)). This allows for a visual comparison of the impact of a given stimulus.
Emission vs. Elicitation:A response is elicited if its probability increases due to a stimulus. A reflex can be represented as a high p(R/S) as compared to p(R/no S).
A response is emitted if it occurs independently of any observable eliciting stimulus and may be represented by p(R/S)=p(R/no S)
Inhibition: Stimuli can also inhibit a response, reducing its probability, which would appear below the diagonal line.
"Such reductions of response probability by a stimulus are sometimes called reflex inhibition."
Emitted Behavior:
Beyond Elicitation: Responses can occur without an identifiable eliciting stimulus.
"One property of behavior left out of early accounts was the emission of responses, responses occurring without eliciting stimuli. How could responses occur if something hadn't caused them? The answer is that there are causes other than eliciting stimuli."
Operant vs. Respondent: Responses that are emitted were termed "instrumental" or "operant" because they act on the environment, while elicited responses were called "reflex" or "respondent."
Skeletal vs. Autonomic: It's a mistake to classify responses as operant (skeletal/voluntary) and respondent (autonomic/involuntary). Either kind of response can be either elicited or emitted and labeled voluntary or involuntary.
"Skeletal responses can be elicited and autonomic responses can be emitted."
Voluntary/Involuntary Distinction: The distinction between voluntary and involuntary behavior is distinct from the elicited/emitted distinction. It largely depends on whether we can identify the source of the actions.
"In other words, the everyday distinction between voluntary and involuntary actions has nothing to do with our distinction between operant and respondent behavior."
Effects of Successive Elicitations:
Variability in Effects: Repeated presentations of the same stimulus can have different effects.
Summation: A stimulus below threshold can become effective if presented repeatedly.
Habituation: Repeated presentations of a stimulus can lead to a decrease in the magnitude, duration and probability of the elicited response.
"This reduction In responding with repeated stimuli is called habituation."
Potentiation: Conversely, repeated presentations of a stimulus, particularly aversive ones, can lead to an increase in the response.
"This effect has been called potentiation."
Sensitization: Sensitization occurs when the eliciting effects of one stimulus are enhanced as a result of presentations of another stimulus.
Time Since Last Elicitation: Habituation and potentiation effects are not permanent. If the stimulus is absent for a while, response probability returns to earlier levels.
Irreversible Effects: Although unusual, irreversible potentiation can occur, like a bee-sting allergy.
Other Forms of Behavior (Pre-learning):
Beyond Reflexes: Behavior includes more than just reflexes, including Fixed action patterns, Kineses, Taxes, Oscillators and Servomechanisms.
"Some types of behavior that aren't learned have the characteristics of oscillators (e.g., circadian rhythms). Some have the characteristics of servomechanisms (eg., the maintenance of balance, during which small displacements produce compensating adjustments)."
Fixed Action Patterns: Differ from reflexes in that the response doesn't vary based on the properties of the stimuli.
Kinesis: Movement not oriented towards a stimulus, e.g., moving until you find a dark space.
Taxis: Movement directed toward or away from a stimulus.
Evolution of Sensory Systems: Sensory systems likely evolved to allow differential responses to environmental events
Transition to Emitted Behavior:
The Significance of Repetition: Early theories believed repeated elicitation could lead to emitted behavior. However, this doesn't work in all cases.
Spontaneous Emission: Some responses appear without prior elicitation.
Exercise and Practice: Early "laws" of exercise and practice suggested repeated responses became more likely but was ambiguous about whether responses needed to be elicited or emitted. It has since been neglected and further research is needed.
Origin of Responding: The focus should be on identifying the source of responding rather than creating exhaustive formal laws.
"Instead of trying to explain instances of behavior in terms of exhaustive formal laws, we'll seek to improve our taxonomy of behavior by classifying behavior in terms of its origins."
Imprinting:
Beyond Probability: Imprinting is not explained by changes in response probability; rather, it's an establishing operation.
"In imprinting, the initial presentations of the to-be-imprinted stimulus don't change response probabilities. Rather, they are establishing operations. They change the significance of the stimulus."
Critical Period: Imprinting often occurs during a critical period.
Reinforcing Stimulus: The imprinted stimulus becomes important and acts as a reinforcer.
"The imprinted stimulus acquires its significance simply by being presented under appropriate circumstances. It begins as a stimulus toward which the duckling is relatively indifferent but ends as a stimulus that functions as a reinforcer and therefore can shape the duckling's behavior."
Establishing Operations:
Changes in Stimulus Significance: Stimuli acquire significance through repeated presentations or deprivation.
Drive and Motivation: Motivation/drive isn't an internal force, but a descriptor of the many environmental and organic variables that make stimuli significant.
"Motivation or drive, therefore, is not a special force to be located somewhere inside the body; rather, it is a term applied to the many environmental and organic variables that make stimuli significant to an organism."
Temporal Structure of Behavior:
Polydipsia and Adjunctive Behavior: Repeated delivery of small amounts of food results in excessive drinking in rats.
Temporal Structure Imposed by Stimuli: Repeated food deliveries to pigeons generated patterned behavior.
"The repeated stimulus presentations imposed temporal structure on behavior."
Adjunctive Behavior: Is behavior where one response reliably accompanies another response
Conclusion:
Chapter 4 of Catania lays the groundwork for understanding how behavior can occur, differentiating between simple reflexes driven by stimuli and more complex behavior that may be emitted independently. It emphasizes the probabilistic nature of behavior, the importance of conditional probabilities, and how stimulus significance can change through mechanisms like habituation, potentiation, and establishing operations. The chapter concludes by bridging to future discussions of consequential operations like reinforcement and punishment, which further influence behavior. It also addresses the many levels of behavior that don't require learning such as fixed action patterns.
ELICITED BEHAVIOR
Elicited behavior refers to responses that are reliably produced by a stimulus. This type of behavior is often associated with reflexes, which are defined by the relationship between a stimulus and a response. However, the concept of elicited behavior extends beyond simple reflexes and includes more complex patterns of behavior.
Key Concepts and Properties of Elicited Behavior:
Reflexes: A reflex is a reliable relationship between a stimulus and a response. For example, a loud noise may elicit a startle reaction, or food in the mouth may elicit salivation. The reflex is not the stimulus or response alone but the relationship between the two.
Eliciting Stimuli: Eliciting stimuli are stimuli that reliably produce a response. The stimulus is said to elicit the response, but this does not mean that a response can cause a stimulus.
Response Probability: The probability of a response is the proportion of times a response occurs compared to the number of times it could have occurred. To determine if a response is elicited, one must know the likelihood of the response in the presence of the stimulus compared to the likelihood of the response in the absence of the stimulus.
Conditional Probabilities: Conditional probabilities describe the probability of a response given the presence or absence of a stimulus. For example, P(R/S) is the probability of a response (R) given a stimulus (S), while P(R/no S) is the probability of a response given no stimulus. These probabilities are used to understand the effect of stimuli on behavior.
Threshold: A stimulus must be above a certain threshold to elicit a response. This threshold is not fixed, but rather a statistical summary, and it can change depending on the features of the stimulus.
Reflex Strength: Reflex strength refers to the properties of a response including its latency, magnitude, and duration. These measures often vary together. Response latency, which is the time between stimulus and response, typically varies inversely with stimulus magnitude, while response magnitude and duration vary directly with stimulus magnitude.
Elicitation vs. Emission: Elicited behaviors are caused by stimuli, while emitted behaviors are not. Emitted behaviors occur spontaneously.
Changes in Elicited Behavior:
Habituation: Repeated presentations of a stimulus can lead to habituation, where the elicited response decreases in magnitude and/or latency.
Potentiation: Conversely, repeated presentations of certain stimuli, particularly those that are aversive, can lead to potentiation, where the elicited response increases in magnitude.
Sensitization: Sensitization occurs when the presentation of one stimulus enhances the eliciting effect of another stimulus.
Time since last stimulus: After a period without a stimulus, the probability of a response will typically return to its earlier level.
Limitations of Reflex-Based Systems:
The reflex is just one of many possible relations between stimuli and responses. Any stimulus may affect different responses, and any response may be affected by different stimuli.
The concept of the reflex can be misleading in some cases.
Complex behaviors cannot be explained solely by combining reflexes. Behaviors can occur without eliciting stimuli.
Early behaviorists such as Watson and Pavlov treated the reflex as a basic unit of behavior, but this approach is considered incomplete.
Other Forms of Behavior:
Fixed Action Patterns: These are all-or-none responses that do not vary with the properties of the stimulus.
Kineses: Undirected movement in response to a stimulus, like random movement of an insect larva in light.
Taxes: Directed movements toward or away from a stimulus, such as phototaxis.
The Shift from Elicited to Emitted Behavior
Exercise: The repeated elicitation of a response may lead to that response being emitted, even in the absence of the original eliciting stimulus.
Imprinting: The initial presentations of a stimulus don't change response probabilities; they change the significance of the stimulus and establish it as a reinforcer.
Elicited behavior is a fundamental aspect of how organisms interact with their environment. Understanding how stimuli elicit responses, how those responses can change, and how these behaviors relate to other forms of behavior provides a foundation for the study of learning and behavior.
EMITTED BEHAVIOREmitted behavior refers to responses that occur without an identifiable eliciting stimulus. These behaviors are not directly caused by an external stimulus in the way that elicited behaviors are. The concept of emitted behavior is important because it demonstrates that not all behavior is a direct reaction to a stimulus, and that organisms can generate actions spontaneously.
Key Concepts and Properties of Emitted Behavior:
Spontaneous Occurrence: Emitted behaviors are not produced by a specific eliciting stimulus; they occur spontaneously.
Not Reflexive: Unlike elicited behaviors, which are part of a reflex relation, emitted behaviors do not fit into the stimulus-response framework of reflexes.
Independence from Stimuli: Emitted responses become independent of the effects of eliciting stimuli.
Sponses: The text suggests that emitted behaviors could be called "sponses" to distinguish them from "responses" which are elicited.
The Shift from Elicited to Emitted Behavior
Exercise: Repeated elicitation of a response can increase the likelihood that the response will be emitted. For example, an infant's sucking reflex, initially elicited by lip stimulation, can eventually become an emitted behavior. The text also notes that walking movements that initially are elicited can eventually become emitted.
Developmental Progression: Some behaviors may start as spontaneous movements and later become elicited as the organism's sensory apparatus matures.
Consequences of Responding: Once a response occurs, whether elicited or emitted, its consequences can affect future behavior.
Examples of Emitted Behavior
Spontaneous Movements: An embryo chick's uncoordinated limb movements are an example of spontaneous, emitted behavior.
Salivation in Dogs: Dogs may begin to salivate even when food is not present, indicating that the response has become emitted and is not directly elicited by food.
Walking: An infant's walking reflex is initially elicited by placing their feet on a surface, but with practice and experience this behavior can become an emitted behavior.
Importance of Studying Emitted Behavior:
Beyond Reflexes: The study of emitted behavior allows us to understand behavior beyond the limitations of a reflex-based model.
Consequential Operations: Emitted responding is essential for understanding consequential operations like reinforcement and punishment.
Instrumental or Operant Behavior: Emitted behaviors have also been called instrumental or operant behaviors, as they are studied in terms of how they operate on the environment and their consequences.
Voluntary and Involuntary Actions: The distinction between operant and respondent behavior is not the same as the distinction between voluntary and involuntary actions. Both types of behavior can seem either voluntary or involuntary.
Distinction Between Elicited and Emitted Responding
The same response can sometimes be elicited and sometimes be emitted.
The classification of behavior as elicited or emitted cannot be based on physiological criteria, such as whether the response is skeletal or autonomic.
Relation to Imprinting
In imprinting, initial presentations of a stimulus do not change response probabilities but establish the stimulus as significant, enabling it to act as a reinforcer for emitted behaviors.
Limitations of the Concept of Exercise:
Early accounts of learning treated the effects of response repetition as basic components of learning, which were described in terms of laws of exercise or practice.
These laws were ambiguous on whether the repeated response was elicited or emitted and were overshadowed by other concerns such as reinforcement.
The study of emitted behavior is important in understanding how behavior can occur independently of eliciting stimuli. It is also essential for understanding how consequences of behavior such as reinforcement and punishment can affect future behavior.
IMPRINTING
Imprinting is a phenomenon where an animal, typically a young bird, forms a strong attachment to the first moving object it encounters, and this attachment influences its subsequent behavior.
Key Aspects of Imprinting:
Attachment: Imprinting involves the development of a strong attachment to a stimulus, which is often the first moving object a young animal sees.
Critical Period: Imprinting is often said to occur during a critical period of a few days after hatching. However, this is not a strict rule; the development of a fear of novel stimuli towards the end of this critical period may prevent imprinting from occurring, unless this fear is prevented or reversed.
Stimulus Variety: Imprinting can occur with a variety of stimuli, including real and model birds, humans, and even electric trains.
Following Behavior: A common response to an imprinted stimulus is following it. This is often seen when a duckling follows its mother, but it can be misleading to consider this following behavior as simply "elicited".
Establishing Operations: Imprinting is an example of how the significance of a stimulus can change. The initial presentations of the to-be-imprinted stimulus do not change response probabilities. Rather, they are considered establishing operations that change the significance of the stimulus, such that the imprinted stimulus becomes a reinforcer.
Imprinting is Not Simply Elicitation:
While it might seem that the imprinted stimulus elicits following, it is more accurate to say that the duckling moves toward the stimulus because the natural consequence of moving closer is to reduce the distance from the stimulus.
If a duckling's world is changed so that the imprinted stimulus is made closer by some response other than walking, the duckling will learn the new response. For instance, a duckling may learn to peck at a disk or stand still if these behaviors bring the imprinted stimulus closer, thus the response is not fixed as in a simple reflex.
Imprinted Stimuli as Reinforcers: The key property of an imprinted stimulus is not that it elicits responses like following, but that it becomes important to the animal. Because of that, it can reinforce behaviors that bring it closer. The stimulus is more like a reinforcer of behavior, rather than an eliciting stimulus.
Imprinting as a Bridge to Consequential Operations:
Imprinting serves as a bridge to understanding how response consequences affect behavior. Initial presentations of the stimulus don't change response probabilities, instead they change the significance of the stimulus.
The imprinted stimulus becomes a reinforcer that shapes the animal's behavior.
Other Ways Stimuli Gain Significance:
The significance of stimuli can also change through other establishing operations, such as deprivation or satiation. For example, a rat deprived of wheel running will be more likely to run than to eat when given the opportunity, and more likely to perform actions that allow access to the wheel.
Conditioned reinforcers and conditioned aversive stimuli also gain their significance through their relation to other stimuli.
In summary, imprinting is a process where an animal forms a strong attachment to an initial stimulus, which then influences its behavior. It involves the stimulus becoming a reinforcer, shaping future responses, and is not simply an example of stimulus-response elicitation. The concept of imprinting is significant as it highlights how the significance of a stimulus can change through experience, laying the groundwork for the study of reinforcement and punishment.
RESPONSE PROBABLITIES
Response probabilities are a way to quantitatively describe the relationship between stimuli and responses. Instead of simply noting that a response follows a stimulus, it is important to understand how likely a response is both in the presence and absence of a stimulus. This is crucial for understanding if a stimulus elicits a response, or if the response occurs independently.
Key Concepts and Definitions
Probability or Relative Frequency: This is a proportion or ratio of the number of times an event occurs compared to the number of times it could have occurred. For instance, if a toe splaying response occurs 6 out of 20 times when a foot is stroked, the response probability is 0.3. Probabilities range from 0.0 (never occurs) to 1.0 (always occurs).
Conditional Probability: This is used when the probability of one event depends on the presence or absence of another event. In the context of stimulus-response relations, it compares the probability of a response given a stimulus, p(R/S), with the probability of a response given no stimulus, p(R/no S).
p(A/B) is read as the probability of A given B, or probability of A on the condition that B is present.
p(X/no Y) is read as the probability of X given no Y, or probability of X on the condition that Y is absent.
Elicitation: When a stimulus reliably produces a response, it is said to elicit the response. A reflex is an example of this.
Emission: Responses can also occur without an identifiable eliciting stimulus; these are called emitted responses.
Why Response Probabilities are Important
Beyond Simple Observation: It is not enough to observe that a response follows a stimulus. The likelihood of the response in the absence of the stimulus must also be known.
Quantifying Stimulus Effects: Response probabilities allow for the precise description of the effects of stimuli by comparing response probability when a stimulus is present with response probability when the stimulus is absent.
Distinguishing Elicited and Emitted Behavior: Understanding response probabilities helps differentiate between responses that are elicited by stimuli and those that are emitted independently.
Analyzing Complex Relationships: Any stimulus may raise or lower the probability of some responses and have no effect on others.
Examples of Response Probabilities in Reflexes and Other Behaviors
Babinski Reflex: In newborns, a light stroke to the foot may produce a toe splaying response each time, with a probability of 1.0. As the infant ages, the probability of this response decreases.
Eyeblink Reflex: A puff of air to the eye elicits blinking. By comparing the probability of blinking after a puff (p(R/S)) with the probability of blinking without a puff (p(R/no S)), the effect of the puff as an eliciting stimulus can be determined.
Duckling Calls: Ducklings emit different calls depending on the stimuli they encounter; contentment calls with their mother, and distress calls in the presence of a strange bird. The probability of each call varies based on the stimulus.
Dog Responses: A dog's responses (such as salivating, growling, or tail-wagging) vary in probability depending on the stimuli present such as its master, food, or a strange dog.
Stimulus-Response Relations and Probability
Stimulus-response relations can be graphically represented by plotting conditional response probabilities given the presence of a stimulus, p(R/S), and its absence, p(R/no S).
The diagonal line on such a graph represents situations where a response's probability is not affected by the stimulus.
Points above the diagonal represent excitation (where stimuli increase response probability), while points below the diagonal represent inhibition (where stimuli decrease response probability).
Changes in Response Probability
Habituation: Repeated presentation of a stimulus can lead to a decrease in response probability. For example, the startle response decreases with repeated loud noises.
Potentiation: In contrast to habituation, repeated presentations of some stimuli (especially aversive ones) can lead to an increase in response probability. For example, the response to an electric shock may grow stronger with each successive shock.
Time Since Last Stimulus: Response probabilities can return to earlier levels after a period without stimulus presentation. If a response has habituated, it may return after a period of time.
Limitations of Reflex-Based Systems
Early systems of behavior, such as those of Watson and Pavlov, were based on reflexes as fundamental units of behavior. But the reflex is just one relation among many.
The reflex is not a sufficient basis for understanding all behavior.
Response probability is only one factor, and the temporal patterning of behavior must also be taken into account.
In summary, response probabilities are essential for understanding the complex ways in which stimuli influence behavior. They allow for a quantitative analysis of stimulus-response relations, distinguishing between elicited and emitted behaviors, and revealing how the likelihood of a response can change based on the presence or absence of a stimulus.