Reflexive Behavior & Respondent Conditioning (Ch 3)

Study Notes

Biological and Phylogenetic Behavior

Biological mechanisms are essential for survival, including fundamental actions like breathing and digestion.
Phylogenic behavior is rooted in an organism's genetic endowment and influences survival traits across generations.

Reflexive and Fixed Action Patterns

Fixed action patterns consist of sequences of innate behaviors that are evolutionarily preserved.
Reflexive behavior is an unconditioned response triggered by an unconditioned stimulus, exemplified by rooting and salivating responses.

Laws of Reflex

The Law of Threshold identifies the stimulus intensity needed to elicit a response.
The Law of Intensity-Magnitude indicates that stronger stimuli produce more intense responses.
The Law of Latency measures the delay between stimulus presentation and the resultant reflexive response.

Habituation and Ontogenetic Behavior

Habituation reflects a decrease in response to a repeated unconditioned stimulus, such as adapting to noise from an airport.
Ontogenetic behavior arises from environmental experiences, shaping an organism's responses over time.

Learning and Respondent Conditioning

Learning encapsulates the changes in behavior resulting from life experiences.
Respondent conditioning (classical conditioning) involves the transfer of control from one stimulus to another through S -> S pairing, resulting in conditioned responses.

Conditioning Types and Methods

First order conditioning pairs a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.
Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) targets avoidance behavior through aversive pairing and is used in addiction treatments.
Delayed conditioning, wherein the conditioned stimulus (CS) precedes the unconditioned stimulus (US), is the most effective conditioning method.

Temporal Relations in Conditioning

Simultaneous conditioning presents the CS and US together but results in weaker responses compared to delayed conditioning.
Trace conditioning involves presenting the CS briefly before the US and typically yields weaker responses.
Backward conditioning pairs the US before the CS, leading to ineffective conditioning.

Biological Systems and Conditioning Effects

Homeostasis is the body's tendency to maintain stability through regulatory feedback loops.
Drug tolerance develops as the environment cues the body to prepare for drug effects, illustrating conditioning's role in overdose scenarios.

Advanced Conditioning Concepts

Second order conditioning extends behavioral effects by linking a new conditioned stimulus with an established one.
Compound stimuli, involving multiple CS presentations, can influence conditioning strength.
Overshadowing occurs when one stimulus dominates conditioning over another presented simultaneously.

Blocking and Conditioned Suppression

Blocking prevents new associations from forming when a CS is already paired with a US, illustrated by previous associations hindering new ones.
Conditioned suppression involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an aversive stimulus leading to fear responses, affecting behavior toward the originally neutral stimulus.

Rescorla-Wagner Theory and Extinction

Rescorla-Wagner theory posits that the strength of conditioning is limited and depends on the associations formed in each trial.
Respondent extinction occurs when the CS is presented without the US, leading to a decline in conditioned responses.
Spontaneous recovery refers to the re-emergence of conditioned responses after a period of extinction.

Description

This quiz explores key concepts related to reflexive behavior and respondent conditioning as covered in Chapter 3. It includes definitions and examples of important terms such as biological mechanisms and phylogenic behavior. Test your understanding of these foundational concepts in behavioral science.