Lecture 20

Question 1

What is the definition of learning?

Answer 1

The acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or study, or by being taught

shapes behaviour within a generation

Behaviours can be fully functional without practice but not all

Question 2

What are the types of learning?

Answer 2

1. Sensitization
2. habituation
3. Associative: Classical and operant
4. Insight (Aha!)
5. Imprinting

Question 3

What is sensitization and habituation?

Answer 3

• Result from a repeated exposure to a SINGLE event
• Habituation - results when a reduction in response occurs from the repeated exposure. ex. halter breaking
• Sensitization - results when a heightened response occurs as a result of repeated exposure. ex. fireworks
• Simple processes

Simple

Question 4

What is the purpose of habituation and sensitization give examples?

Answer 4

Habituation: to limit energy usage on repeated situations
* Rustling leaves in a bush (get used to it)
* stimulus specific

Sensitization: Repeated response of a single event results in a heightened response
if you got stung, you won’t get stung again
* bees buzzing after being stung

Question 5

What is associative learning?

Answer 5

Occurs when some action of little significance suddenly becomes important, animal becomes conditioned
There are two types of associative learning

example: dog and sound of treat bag

Question 6

What is classical conditioning (Pavlovian)?

Answer 6

2 stimuli regularly paired in close succession

unconditional response and unconditional stimulus (saliva and food)
conditional response and conditional stimilus (salivation and bell)

Dog started salvating when it heard a bell (food coming)

Question 7

What was the best order of the stimuli for classical conditioning?

Answer 7

• Best response - delayed conditioning: unconditional stimulus at least partially preceds the conditional stimulus
• Not very efective - simulataneous conditioning: the two stimuli are presented together
• Not effective - backward conditioning: the two stimuli are presented with the conditional preceding the unconditional

Question 8

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 8

Requires the animal’s performance of some activity rather than an environmental stimulus
* starts with the animal achieving a reward through a chance occurence
* If the reward happens often enough m the animal learns (through trial and error) to perform that behaviour to achieve that reward

can be used to teach complex behavious (skinner box- does action to get reward)

Question 9

What is the best reinforcement schedule for operant learning?

Answer 9

• Strongest and most consistent responses - continuous reinforcement schedule: rewarded each time
• Results in high rate of responses - Fixed ratio schedule: animal must attempt a set number of times before the reward is given
• High rate of response but unpredictable - variable ratio schedule: number of times they must attempt changes

Question 10

What is insight?

Exam question - crow bringing money and given food - operant conditioning

Answer 10

• Aha!
• Learning which occurs with a mental process, where a problem that hasplagued the individual for a while suddenly becomes solved

solution comes at random

Question 11

What is imprinting?

Answer 11

• In young animals
• Long lasting effects
• Irreversible
• Occurence during a critical period of animal development (time when imprinting occurs)
• Social recognition

duck and geese

different from other learning mechanisms

Question 12

Is learning to run a maze the same as learning to identify foods that make you sick or as learning to avoid obnoxious noises?

Answer 12

Probably not the same