Lecture 1: Behavior PDF

Lecture 1 Behavior Behavior can be defined as an action produced in organisms in response to stimulus from a given situation. It could simply be considered as what the animal does. The fundamental explanation of behavioral activity must begin with a stimulus and end...

Lecture 1 Behavior Behavior can be defined as an action produced in organisms in response to stimulus from a given situation. It could simply be considered as what the animal does. The fundamental explanation of behavioral activity must begin with a stimulus and end with a response. Stimulus: Any change in the biotic and abiotic environments capable of eliciting or causing some sort of reaction or response in a living organism. For example, temperature, pressure, radiation, gravity, or activities of other organisms within the immediate environment. 1 Types of Behavior 1. Innate Instinct or genes Determine behavior 2. Learned Experience and learning Influence behavior 2  Learned behavior Learning can be defined as an adaptive change in individual behavior as a result of experience. The patterns of newly acquired learned behavior depends on memory storing information gained from the experience. Learning alters the range of behaviors shown by an individual, and allows it to adapt to and control its environment. Learned behavior is important especially to those with longer life spans. 3 Types of Learned Behavior 1. Associative Learning 2. Nonassociative Learning 3. Observational Learning 4. Insight 4 1. Associative learning Associative learning simply means that an animal learns to associate an event with a result. There are 3 types of associative learning: a) Classical conditioning, b) Trial-and-error conditioning, and c) Spatial Learning. 5 A. Classical conditioning: Pavlovian conditioning involves the association of events over which the animal has no control. It is able to gain prediction of events in its environment. Pavlov's dog associated bell with the arrival of food and begins to salivate at the sound of a bell. At first, the dog didn't react to the stimulus alone, but after a few repetitions the stimulus was able to cause salivation, before the arrival of the food being given to the dog. 6 A. Classical conditioning: The animal learns to associate a conditioned stimulus (e.g. a bell), with the onset of an unconditioned stimulus (e.g. the arrival of food). An unconditioned response (e.g. salivation) would only occur in response to an unconditioned stimulus prior to learning. 7 B. Trial-and-error learning: Trial-and-error activities give rise to responses which are reinforced either by rewarding (positive) or punishment (negative). The association of outcome of a response in terms of reward or punishment increases or decreases respectively future responses. Instrumental conditioning therefore involves association of events with control. 8 C. Spatial Learning When an animal associates attributes of a location with the reward it gains by being able to identify and return to that location. Tinbergen observed wasps using pinecone markers to return to their nests. If the markers were removed, wasps could not find the nest. 9 2. Nonassociative learning Habituation Ideally, an animal should recognize important cues or signals in its environment and act in response to them in order to adapt to constantly changing environment. *Continuous repetition of a stimulus not associated with reward or punishment (reinforcement) puts off any response to the stimulus. An animal becomes habituated when it no longer responds to a stimulus. Ex. the gorillas are habituated to the presence of humans. 10 3. Observational Learning Occurs when animals copy the behavior of another animal without any previous knowledge of the behavior. Example: Japanese monkeys usually remove sand from food by brushing them with their hands. One monkey discovered that dipping food in water more easily rid the food of sand. Through observational learning, many of the other monkeys began to use water to clean their food. 11  4. Insight learning This is the highest form of learning which does not result from immediate trial-and-error learning but may be based on information previously learned by other behavioral activities. Insight learning is based on advanced perceptual abilities such as thought and reasoning. When presented with wooded boxes and bananas too high to reach, the chimps stacked up the boxes beneath the bananas and climbed up to get them. Another example: monkey uses the rods to get ants. 12 Behavioral Interactions: 1. Cooperation 2. Communication 3. Competition Cooperative behavior Cooperative behavior is widespread in nature, and seen in many different organisms, from bacterial cells to primates. The main aim of behavior is to increase the survival and reproductive success of individual organisms.  Benefits of Co-operative Behavior 1. Safety in numbers: Buffalo and other such animals group together (herd). This makes it more difficult for predators to attack a single buffalo. Animals often form defensive circles, all facing outwards so that their rears are not exposed and their young (in the center) are protected. 2. Parental care: Ex 1: The male of Giant water bug is carrying a clutch of eggs that has been glued to his back by the female. Ex 2: Beautiful jewel wasp zombifies cockroach.