Post on 03-Jan-2016
transcript
Elements of BehaviorChapter 34-1
Learning Years ago, biologists in Koshima,
Japan, left sweet potatoes on a sandy beach to get the local Macaque monkeys out into the open
One day, a small female monkey washed her sand-covered potato in a nearby pool of water
Eventually more monkeys (including her mother) began washing their potatoes in the pool of water
Generations later, this learned behavior is still practiced by all of the macaque monkeys living on the island of Koshima
These macaque monkeys from Japan have learned to wash the sand off their food before eating
Stimulus and Response Behavior - the way an organism
reacts to changes in its internal OR external environment• May be simple or complex• Ex: Turning your head to a noise,
stomach rumbling when you smell food
Stimulus - any signal that can be detected and carries information• The five senses take in stimuli (plural)
Response - A single, specific reaction to a stimulus• A behavior may consist of more than
one responseStimulus = heatResponse = letting go
Types of Stimuli and Responses Not all organisms have the
same “Senses”• Sharks have electroreceptors in
their nose to detect the electricity of heartbeats in fish
• Bats hear high frequency noise produced from echo-location to find their food
• Bees can see UV light on flowers Responses involve complex
communication between the body systems• The Nervous System(senses)
take in the information and use it to stimulate the Muscular System into a response
Behavior and Evolution Behavior is just as
important to survival as physical characteristics
Many behaviors are influenced or controlled by genes and are therefore inherited
Natural selection acts on beneficial behaviors for a species the same way it acts on physical traits• If the behavior helps the
species survive and reproduce, the gene will be passed on to future generations
Types of Behaviors: Innate Innate behavior - also
called instinct or inborn behavior
These behaviors are fully functional the first time they are performed• There is no learning period
Examples:• Spiders building webs• Weaver birds building
hanging nests
Types of Behavior: Learned When animals alter
their behavior as a result of experience, it’s called learning
The four major types of learning are1. Habituation2. Classical
Conditioning3. Operant
Conditioning4. Insight Learning
Learning Behaviors: Habituation The simplest of learning
types The process by which an
animal decreases or stops its response to a stimulus that neither rewards nor harms the animal• Allows animals to spend their
time and energy more efficiently Example: an animal no longer
running away from humans after learning that their presence won’t help or hurt them
This deer is no longer afraid of humans because it has learned they will neither hurt nor help it
Learning Behaviors: Classical Conditioning
A learned behavior in which an animal makes a mental connection between a stimulus and some kind of reward or punishment
Example: Pavlov’s Dog• He rang a bell and gave the dog a
treat• After repeated trials, the dog
made a mental connection between the bell and food
• After a while, ringing the bell was enough to make the dog salivate even when no food was present
Example 2: You guys pack up the second the bell rings whether it’s a double period or not
Pavlov’s Dog has learned that the bell means food and therefore salivates when it hears the bell
Learning Behaviors: Operant Conditioning
Practice makes perfect Learning a behavior through
repeated practice in order to receive a reward or avoid punishment
Also called trial-and-error learning• Most trials lead to error but
occasionally a reward or punishment occurs
Example: The Skinner Box• An animal accidently pushes a
lever in a cage and receives food• Eventually the animal learns that
pushing the lever on purpose delivers food
Skinner box
Learning Behaviors: Insight Learning
The most complex form of learning
Involves applying a learned concept to a NEW situation WITHOUT a trial-and-error period
Example: Once you learn how to perform long division, you can apply the knowledge to new questions on a test
Example 2: The monkeys to the left have figured out how to get bananas by stacking boxes
Instinct and Learning Combined Imprinting (mimicking)
keeps young animals close to their mother by combining instinct with a learned behavior
Example: Baby geese learn to recognize and follow the first moving object they see during a critical time
Imprinting can occur with odor and sounds in addition to sights• Newly hatched salmon imprint
on the odor of the stream in which they were hatched. This allows them to find it later so they can spawn as adults
These baby Geese have learned to follow the first moving object they saw