PSYCH 3M03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Fixed Action Pattern, Plantar Reflex, Palmar Grasp Reflex
18 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Selective Breeding
The idea of inheritance came from Mendel's work with pea plants.
-
Before this, farmers knew about selective breeding & how it could help them
yield the best crops.
-
Selective breeding: crossing plants with other plants (or animals with animals)
to get an offspring with desirable traits.
-
Agricultural crops
Selective breeding of seeds taken from the highest quality fruits &
vegetables leads to increased quality of agricultural crops over several
generations.
○
E.g., GMOs:
Golden rice - beta carotene added to hopefully help people with
vitamin deficiencies.
§
They help better our produce.
§
Glyphosate ("roundup") - herbicide was killing the crops too
They made GMO plants were grown to be immune to
roundup so that they would still survive.
□
§
○
-
What About In Mammals?
Nature versus nurture?
Behaviour of simple organisms is driven more by genetics than learning -
simpler organisms, simpler behaviours.
○
Learning plays a greater role in complex organisms, such as humans &
primates - complex behaviours in complex species.
○
Learning does not override all natural behaviour, even in the most
complex animals - some behaviours are innate.
○
-
Traits in domestic animals
Dogs
Selected for obedience, bonding to human masters.
§
Selected for docile nature.
§
Selected for defense & aggression.
§
Selected for motivation to hunt foxes, track scents, herd sheep, etc.
§
○
Horses
Selected for obedience, controlled racing, plowing fields,
"bombproof-ness", gentleness.
§
○
Cattle & sheep
Selected for docile nature, tolerance of handling & confinement.
§
○
Cats
Selected for inoffensive behaviour, human contact.
§
○
Lab rodents
Selected for inactivity, non-aggressiveness, tolerance of human
handling, confined spaces.
§
For research purpose, can be selected for different knock-out
genes.
§
○
-
Instinctive Behaviour
Reflexes
Innate involuntary stimulus response.
-
Signals bypass the brain and goes straight to the musculature to respond.
-
Can be simple reflexes or come in complex sets.
-
Human adult reflexes
Breathing, shivering, blinking, hand withdrawal, startle response, knee
jerk, salivation.
○
-
Human infant reflexes
Rooting and suckling -- babies turn inwards when you touch their cheek,
begin suckling when their lip is touched.
Evolved to give the child easy access to food.
§
○
Babinski Reflex -- touch baby's foot and they'll open their toes.
○
Startle (moro) Reflex -- similar to adult response to music
Babies arch back and throw arms up
§
Used to make sure auditory processing is working well.
§
○
Palmer Grasp -- reflex to grab onto anything
Prehistoric - grabbing parent to stabilize
§
Functions for bonding as well.
§
○
Stepping
Hold baby over the ground and they'll innately begin to "walk"
§
Evolution of walking on two feet.
§
○
Tonic Neck Reflex
"Dabbing Reflex"
§
○
-
Fixed Action Patterns
More complex coordinated patterns of instinctive behaviour.
Not simply reflexes, more steps.
○
-
Examples:
Grooming
○
Nest building --rodents don't need to see another rodent build a nest to
know how to do it when they have their own litter.
○
Swimming
○
Rage response in cats -- cats will arch their back and show their teeth
when they are angry.
○
-
Main Principles:
Stereotyped:
Fixed nature of the response.
§
Similar expression across individuals and time.
§
E.g., Grooming in cats -- domestic and wild cats show the same
patterns of behaviours.
§
1.
Independence from Immediate external control:
Sequence of muscular contractions comprising a fixed action
pattern occurs irrespective of changes in external conditions.
§
Once the fixed action pattern is initiated, it will continue until
completion regardless of whether the external environment has
changed.
§
Behaviours not classified as fixed action patterns are directed by
external conditions.
I.e., if the pattern discontinued when the environmental
stimulus changes -- not fixed action pattern anymore.
□
§
Example: Grayling Goose
Goose will continue to do the egg rolling motion when the
egg is removed.
□
§
2.
Spontaneous:
Responds due to internal factors as well as stimuli.
Therefore, you don't need an external onset/stimulus. □
§
Fluctuations in the threshold of a fixed action pattern occurring are
independent of changes in external conditions.
§
Organism's readiness to perform a fixed action pattern and the
intensity with which the fixed action pattern occurs are positively
correlated with the time elapsed since the fixed action pattern was
last evoked.
When they don't perform a FAP for a long period of time, a
lesser stimuli is necessary to evoke FAP.
□
§
3.
Independence from individual learning:
Many instinctive behavioural patterns occur without any
opportunity to learn them.
§
We don't need to see someone else perform the behaviour in order
to display them.
§
Fluctuations in environmental conditions during development do
not alter the fixed action pattern, assuming the organism is healthy.
§
4.
-
Behavioural Genetics
What genes are responsible for what behaviours?
-
Usually use lab models.
Can be bred for different traits.
○
Can be deprived or moved into different environments.
○
-
Lab animal studies show that we can breed for motivational and emotional
traits.
-
Human studies show that motivational and emotional traits show familial
concordance.
Found from twin studies which allows us to look at whether environment
changes change behaviours (innate versus learned).
○
-
Some simple traits in lab animals are governed by single genes.
Some of these simple behaviours are controlled by dominant genes and
others are controlled by recessive genes.
○
-
Most motivational and emotional traits are governed by multiple genes.
-
Whitney (1969)
Squeaking in mice
C57 mice: rarely vocalize
○
JK mice: 2/3 (67%) vocalize
○
Generation Vocalization %
C57 3%
JK 68%
F1 (C57 x JK) 56%
F1 x C57 26%
F1 x JK 62%
F2 (F1 x F1) 46%
-
When you breed C57 and JK, your generation has vocalization in the middle of
the two.
Same with the other crosses.
○
-
Capping and sealing affects?
-
Mendelian ratios suggest a single dominant gene.
Vocalization is a behaviour controlled by a single dominant gene.
○
-
Van Abeelen (1967)
Dancing in mice
Waltzer mice are observed to dance.
○
They literally just spin around in circiles
○
-
Generation % Dancing
W-Male x W-Female 100%
W x Normal (F1) 0%
F1 x F1 27%
Mendelian ratios suggest a single recessive gene.
-
Lagerspetz (1964)
Male mice will innately fight with each other when placed together, females
will not.
-
Male mice selectively bred for or against aggression over seven generations.
-
Females categorized on aggression based on the aggression score of the
brother.
-
We don't really see a decrease in aggression for non-aggressive mice, but
definitely see an increase in aggression for aggressive group.
-
See figure 3-1
-
DeFries (1978)
Tendency to explore can be amplified or minimized through breeding in
successive generations.
-
Exploratory behaviour vs fear/anxiety behaviours.
-
You can heavily select for each behaviour over generations.
-
Plomin (1994)
Twin comparisons:
Monozygotic or identical twins (MZ) compared to dizygotic or fraternal
twins (DZ).
MZ, r = 1.0
§
DZ, r = 0.5
§
○
MZ (black bars)
Show higher proportion/concordance of the diseases/disorders.
§
Therefore, there's some genetic component.
§
○
-
Can also compare twins reared apart vs twins reared together.
-
Tellegen (1988)
Twin comparisons
-
MZ vs DZ
-
Reared apart vs reared together.
-
For MZ twins, whether they were reared apart or together is irrelevant for
many traits.
Therefore, there are genetic components to many of these traits.
○
-
For MZT and DZT
Although both reared together, MZ twins still more similar on most traits.
○
Traditionalism and absorption show stronger environmental factors.
○
-
Therefore, behaviours may have strong genetic components and/or
environmental factors.
-
Learning and Flexibility
The environment can change faster than evolution progress.
-
Learning allows adaptation to changing and complex environments within the
individual's lifetime.
-
Ability to learn can be driven by genetics.
-
Learning greatest in K-selection species.
-
Exploration
Most animals explore new environments.
○
Genetic basis of tendency to explore.
○
Food, water, shelter, possible danger must be sought out and evaluated.
○
Allows individuals to learn where they are/how to get things.
○
-
Play
Observed in many mammalian species, including primates, marine
mammals, ungulates, rodents.
○
Helps with motor behaviours and dexterity in primates.
○
Wrestling, attack play - good practice for defense skills you might need.
○
Allows them to learn behaviours that could help them later on.
○
-
Simple Learning
Habituation: repeated exposure to a stimulus tends to lead to reduced
responses to that stimulus.
Basically, you get bored.
○
-
Sensitization: repeated exposure to a stimulus produces enhanced responses to
that stimulus.
-
Not complex -- simply done by exposure.
Can be found in simple organisms.
○
-
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov's Experiment
Present food to dog, salivation is the innate response.
-
Pair food with bell, repeatedly/consistently, when you ring bell without food,
salivation will occur.
-
Note, CR & UR are the same in most cases.
But it depends on the situation.
○
E.g., Compensation with drugs.
When you take drugs in same location, your body will prepare for
you to take drugs (e.g., HR decreasing).
§
UR = hear rate increase, CR = HR decrease.
§
○
-
Before Conditioning:
The unconditional stimulus (US) naturally elicits the unconditional
response (UR) in the absence of any conditioning or learning.
○
The conditional stimulus (CS) does not elicit any response in the absence
of conditioning or learning.
○
-
During Conditioning:
The conditional stimulus (CS) is repeatedly paired with the unconditional
stimulus (US), which naturally elicits the unconditional response (UR).
○
-
After Conditioning:
Learning has occurred when the conditional stimulus (CS) now elicits the
conditional response (CR) on its own.
○
The CR may be the same or different from the UR.
○
-
Garcia's Experiment: Conditioned Taste Aversion
Drive for food -- hunger.
-
Radiation creates illness.
-
They radiated mice when feeding it novel food.
-
The mouse thought that the food was the reason it was sick.
Even after hours between food and radiation, still see same effect.
○
-
Learned in one trial.
-
Classical Conditioning and Emotions
Contexts may come to elicit emotions after association with stimuli that
naturally elicit these emotions.
Specific contexts can make stimuli more positive or more negative.
○
-
Examples include conditioning of traumatic, sexual, or gratifying stimuli.
-
Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning
Positive
Stimulus introduced following a response.
○
-
Negative
Stimulus withdrawn following a response.
○
-
Reinforcement
Consequence that causes the frequency of a response to increase.
○
-
Punishment
Consequence that causes the frequency of a response to decrease.
○
-
Reinforcement Punishment
+Positive Reinforcement
(Reinforcement)
Response followed by
introduction of an appetitive
stimulus
-
Frequency of response will
increase.
-
Positive Punishment (Punishment)
Response followed by
introduction of an aversive
stimulus.
-
Frequency of response will
decreases.
-
-Negative Reinforcement (Escape)
Response followed by removal
of an aversive stimulus
-
Frequency of response will
increase.
-
Negative Punishment (Omission)
Response followed by removal
of an appetitive stimulus.
-
Frequency of response will
decrease.
-
In other words, people tend to repeat responses that are gratifying and tend
not to repeat responses with unfavorable outcomes.
-
Extinction: if a response is no longer reinforced, the response will eventually
decrease in frequency until it no longer occurs.
-
Physiology of Reinforcement
Nucleus accumbens is the location in the brain responsible for rewards.
-
It's part of the dopamine (reward) pathway
Rewards increase dopamine.
○
Anything we associate with pleasure (food, drink, sex, etc.) activates the
nucleus accumbens.
○
-
Raises questions about what arouses us.
-
Conditioning May Not Override Fixed Action Potentials
Mice can learn to avoid a foot shock by running to the other side of a cage
when a light predicts the shock.
-
Mice will run to safety when the light is behind them.
-
Mice will not run towards the light when it is above the safe zone.
Why? Evolution of escape behaviour.
○
-
Breland and Breland (1961)
Trained animals for movies.
-
Attempted to train raccoons and pigs to deposit a coin into a piggy bank.
But, overtime animals wouldn't perform specific tasks or they'd do it with
○
-
Raccoons would constantly rub the coins despite no reinforcement to do so.
Rubbing is a FAP.
○
-
Pigs would constantly drop the coins and "root" despite no reinforcement to do
so.
Dropping and "rooting" is FAP.
○
-
Training couldn't stop the animals from doing the FAP behaviours.
"A clear and utter failure of conditioning theory"
○
-
Vicarious Learning
Contagion
When someone performs a behaviour, people around them adopt this
behaviour as well.
○
E.g., Entire class feeling sick
Thought it was coke so many others who drank coke began to feel
sick too.
§
Social contagion.
§
Really, it was just one girl with a flu.
§
○
-
Imitation
Watching someone perform a behaviour and then repeating it.
○
-
Modelling
Like imitation, but the actor is actually guiding the person.
○
-
Incentives and Behaviours
Does not require direct experience with rewards and punishments.
-
A cognitive representation of potential rewards and punishments can motivate.
Humans can imagine rewards/punishments without actually needing to
experience it.
○
E.g., buying a lottery ticket.
You've never won, but the potential incentive is huge so you still
are motivated to play.
§
○
-
Question: Which of the following best exemplifies the spontaneous nature of a fixed
action pattern?
A primate performing an elaborate mating dance only in the presence of the
opposite sex.
A)
Squinting of the eyelid and narrowing of the pupils in response to bright light.B)
A pregnant female rate preparing a nest prior to giving birth to her first litter.C)
A platypus following its envenomed prey by tracing its scent. D)
Chapter 3: Genetics, Learning & Development
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
4:50 PM
Selective Breeding
The idea of inheritance came from Mendel's work with pea plants.
-
Before this, farmers knew about selective breeding & how it could help them
yield the best crops.
-
Selective breeding: crossing plants with other plants (or animals with animals)
to get an offspring with desirable traits.
-
Agricultural crops
Selective breeding of seeds taken from the highest quality fruits &
vegetables leads to increased quality of agricultural crops over several
generations.
○
E.g., GMOs:
Golden rice - beta carotene added to hopefully help people with
vitamin deficiencies.
§
They help better our produce.
§
Glyphosate ("roundup") - herbicide was killing the crops too
They made GMO plants were grown to be immune to
roundup so that they would still survive.
□
§
○
-
What About In Mammals?
Nature versus nurture?
Behaviour of simple organisms is driven more by genetics than learning -
simpler organisms, simpler behaviours.
○
Learning plays a greater role in complex organisms, such as humans &
primates - complex behaviours in complex species.
○
Learning does not override all natural behaviour, even in the most
complex animals - some behaviours are innate.
○
-
Traits in domestic animals
Dogs
Selected for obedience, bonding to human masters.
§
Selected for docile nature.
§
Selected for defense & aggression.
§
Selected for motivation to hunt foxes, track scents, herd sheep, etc.
§
○
Horses
Selected for obedience, controlled racing, plowing fields,
"bombproof-ness", gentleness.
§
○
Cattle & sheep
Selected for docile nature, tolerance of handling & confinement.
§
○
Cats
Selected for inoffensive behaviour, human contact.
§
○
Lab rodents
Selected for inactivity, non-aggressiveness, tolerance of human
handling, confined spaces.
§
For research purpose, can be selected for different knock-out
genes.
§
○
-
Instinctive Behaviour
Reflexes
Innate involuntary stimulus response.
-
Signals bypass the brain and goes straight to the musculature to respond.
-
Can be simple reflexes or come in complex sets.
-
Human adult reflexes
Breathing, shivering, blinking, hand withdrawal, startle response, knee
jerk, salivation.
○
-
Human infant reflexes
Rooting and suckling -- babies turn inwards when you touch their cheek,
begin suckling when their lip is touched.
Evolved to give the child easy access to food.
§
○
Babinski Reflex -- touch baby's foot and they'll open their toes.
○
Startle (moro) Reflex -- similar to adult response to music
Babies arch back and throw arms up
§
Used to make sure auditory processing is working well.
§
○
Palmer Grasp -- reflex to grab onto anything
Prehistoric - grabbing parent to stabilize
§
Functions for bonding as well.
§
○
Stepping
Hold baby over the ground and they'll innately begin to "walk"
§
Evolution of walking on two feet.
§
○
Tonic Neck Reflex
"Dabbing Reflex"
§
○
-
Fixed Action Patterns
More complex coordinated patterns of instinctive behaviour.
Not simply reflexes, more steps.
○
-
Examples:
Grooming
○
Nest building --rodents don't need to see another rodent build a nest to
know how to do it when they have their own litter.
○
Swimming
○
Rage response in cats -- cats will arch their back and show their teeth
when they are angry.
○
-
Main Principles:
Stereotyped:
Fixed nature of the response.
§
Similar expression across individuals and time.
§
E.g., Grooming in cats -- domestic and wild cats show the same
patterns of behaviours.
§
1.
Independence from Immediate external control:
Sequence of muscular contractions comprising a fixed action
pattern occurs irrespective of changes in external conditions.
§
Once the fixed action pattern is initiated, it will continue until
completion regardless of whether the external environment has
changed.
§
Behaviours not classified as fixed action patterns are directed by
external conditions.
I.e., if the pattern discontinued when the environmental
stimulus changes -- not fixed action pattern anymore.
□
§
Example: Grayling Goose
Goose will continue to do the egg rolling motion when the
egg is removed.
□
§
2.
Spontaneous:
Responds due to internal factors as well as stimuli.
Therefore, you don't need an external onset/stimulus. □
§
Fluctuations in the threshold of a fixed action pattern occurring are
independent of changes in external conditions.
§
Organism's readiness to perform a fixed action pattern and the
intensity with which the fixed action pattern occurs are positively
correlated with the time elapsed since the fixed action pattern was
last evoked.
When they don't perform a FAP for a long period of time, a
lesser stimuli is necessary to evoke FAP.
□
§
3.
Independence from individual learning:
Many instinctive behavioural patterns occur without any
opportunity to learn them.
§
We don't need to see someone else perform the behaviour in order
to display them.
§
Fluctuations in environmental conditions during development do
not alter the fixed action pattern, assuming the organism is healthy.
§
4.
-
Behavioural Genetics
What genes are responsible for what behaviours?
-
Usually use lab models.
Can be bred for different traits.
○
Can be deprived or moved into different environments.
○
-
Lab animal studies show that we can breed for motivational and emotional
traits.
-
Human studies show that motivational and emotional traits show familial
concordance.
Found from twin studies which allows us to look at whether environment
changes change behaviours (innate versus learned).
○
-
Some simple traits in lab animals are governed by single genes.
Some of these simple behaviours are controlled by dominant genes and
others are controlled by recessive genes.
○
-
Most motivational and emotional traits are governed by multiple genes.
-
Whitney (1969)
Squeaking in mice
C57 mice: rarely vocalize
○
JK mice: 2/3 (67%) vocalize
○
Generation Vocalization %
C57 3%
JK 68%
F1 (C57 x JK) 56%
F1 x C57 26%
F1 x JK 62%
F2 (F1 x F1) 46%
-
When you breed C57 and JK, your generation has vocalization in the middle of
the two.
Same with the other crosses.
○
-
Capping and sealing affects?
-
Mendelian ratios suggest a single dominant gene.
Vocalization is a behaviour controlled by a single dominant gene.
○
-
Van Abeelen (1967)
Dancing in mice
Waltzer mice are observed to dance.
○
They literally just spin around in circiles
○
-
Generation % Dancing
W-Male x W-Female 100%
W x Normal (F1) 0%
F1 x F1 27%
Mendelian ratios suggest a single recessive gene.
-
Lagerspetz (1964)
Male mice will innately fight with each other when placed together, females
will not.
-
Male mice selectively bred for or against aggression over seven generations.
-
Females categorized on aggression based on the aggression score of the
brother.
-
We don't really see a decrease in aggression for non-aggressive mice, but
definitely see an increase in aggression for aggressive group.
-
See figure 3-1
-
DeFries (1978)
Tendency to explore can be amplified or minimized through breeding in
successive generations.
-
Exploratory behaviour vs fear/anxiety behaviours.
-
You can heavily select for each behaviour over generations.
-
Plomin (1994)
Twin comparisons:
Monozygotic or identical twins (MZ) compared to dizygotic or fraternal
twins (DZ).
MZ, r = 1.0
§
DZ, r = 0.5
§
○
MZ (black bars)
Show higher proportion/concordance of the diseases/disorders.
§
Therefore, there's some genetic component.
§
○
-
Can also compare twins reared apart vs twins reared together.
-
Tellegen (1988)
Twin comparisons
-
MZ vs DZ
-
Reared apart vs reared together.
-
For MZ twins, whether they were reared apart or together is irrelevant for
many traits.
Therefore, there are genetic components to many of these traits.
○
-
For MZT and DZT
Although both reared together, MZ twins still more similar on most traits.
○
Traditionalism and absorption show stronger environmental factors.
○
-
Therefore, behaviours may have strong genetic components and/or
environmental factors.
-
Learning and Flexibility
The environment can change faster than evolution progress.
-
Learning allows adaptation to changing and complex environments within the
individual's lifetime.
-
Ability to learn can be driven by genetics.
-
Learning greatest in K-selection species.
-
Exploration
Most animals explore new environments.
○
Genetic basis of tendency to explore.
○
Food, water, shelter, possible danger must be sought out and evaluated.
○
Allows individuals to learn where they are/how to get things.
○
-
Play
Observed in many mammalian species, including primates, marine
mammals, ungulates, rodents.
○
Helps with motor behaviours and dexterity in primates.
○
Wrestling, attack play - good practice for defense skills you might need.
○
Allows them to learn behaviours that could help them later on.
○
-
Simple Learning
Habituation: repeated exposure to a stimulus tends to lead to reduced
responses to that stimulus.
Basically, you get bored.
○
-
Sensitization: repeated exposure to a stimulus produces enhanced responses to
that stimulus.
-
Not complex -- simply done by exposure.
Can be found in simple organisms.
○
-
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov's Experiment
Present food to dog, salivation is the innate response.
-
Pair food with bell, repeatedly/consistently, when you ring bell without food,
salivation will occur.
-
Note, CR & UR are the same in most cases.
But it depends on the situation.
○
E.g., Compensation with drugs.
When you take drugs in same location, your body will prepare for
you to take drugs (e.g., HR decreasing).
§
UR = hear rate increase, CR = HR decrease.
§
○
-
Before Conditioning:
The unconditional stimulus (US) naturally elicits the unconditional
response (UR) in the absence of any conditioning or learning.
○
The conditional stimulus (CS) does not elicit any response in the absence
of conditioning or learning.
○
-
During Conditioning:
The conditional stimulus (CS) is repeatedly paired with the unconditional
stimulus (US), which naturally elicits the unconditional response (UR).
○
-
After Conditioning:
Learning has occurred when the conditional stimulus (CS) now elicits the
conditional response (CR) on its own.
○
The CR may be the same or different from the UR.
○
-
Garcia's Experiment: Conditioned Taste Aversion
Drive for food -- hunger.
-
Radiation creates illness.
-
They radiated mice when feeding it novel food.
-
The mouse thought that the food was the reason it was sick.
Even after hours between food and radiation, still see same effect.
○
-
Learned in one trial.
-
Classical Conditioning and Emotions
Contexts may come to elicit emotions after association with stimuli that
naturally elicit these emotions.
Specific contexts can make stimuli more positive or more negative.
○
-
Examples include conditioning of traumatic, sexual, or gratifying stimuli.
-
Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning
Positive
Stimulus introduced following a response.
○
-
Negative
Stimulus withdrawn following a response.
○
-
Reinforcement
Consequence that causes the frequency of a response to increase.
○
-
Punishment
Consequence that causes the frequency of a response to decrease.
○
-
Reinforcement Punishment
+Positive Reinforcement
(Reinforcement)
Response followed by
introduction of an appetitive
stimulus
-
Frequency of response will
increase.
-
Positive Punishment (Punishment)
Response followed by
introduction of an aversive
stimulus.
-
Frequency of response will
decreases.
-
-Negative Reinforcement (Escape)
Response followed by removal
of an aversive stimulus
-
Frequency of response will
increase.
-
Negative Punishment (Omission)
Response followed by removal
of an appetitive stimulus.
-
Frequency of response will
decrease.
-
In other words, people tend to repeat responses that are gratifying and tend
not to repeat responses with unfavorable outcomes.
-
Extinction: if a response is no longer reinforced, the response will eventually
decrease in frequency until it no longer occurs.
-
Physiology of Reinforcement
Nucleus accumbens is the location in the brain responsible for rewards.
-
It's part of the dopamine (reward) pathway
Rewards increase dopamine.
○
Anything we associate with pleasure (food, drink, sex, etc.) activates the
nucleus accumbens.
○
-
Raises questions about what arouses us.
-
Conditioning May Not Override Fixed Action Potentials
Mice can learn to avoid a foot shock by running to the other side of a cage
when a light predicts the shock.
-
Mice will run to safety when the light is behind them.
-
Mice will not run towards the light when it is above the safe zone.
Why? Evolution of escape behaviour.
○
-
Breland and Breland (1961)
Trained animals for movies.
-
Attempted to train raccoons and pigs to deposit a coin into a piggy bank.
But, overtime animals wouldn't perform specific tasks or they'd do it with
○
-
Raccoons would constantly rub the coins despite no reinforcement to do so.
Rubbing is a FAP.
○
-
Pigs would constantly drop the coins and "root" despite no reinforcement to do
so.
Dropping and "rooting" is FAP.
○
-
Training couldn't stop the animals from doing the FAP behaviours.
"A clear and utter failure of conditioning theory"
○
-
Vicarious Learning
Contagion
When someone performs a behaviour, people around them adopt this
behaviour as well.
○
E.g., Entire class feeling sick
Thought it was coke so many others who drank coke began to feel
sick too.
§
Social contagion.
§
Really, it was just one girl with a flu.
§
○
-
Imitation
Watching someone perform a behaviour and then repeating it.
○
-
Modelling
Like imitation, but the actor is actually guiding the person.
○
-
Incentives and Behaviours
Does not require direct experience with rewards and punishments.
-
A cognitive representation of potential rewards and punishments can motivate.
Humans can imagine rewards/punishments without actually needing to
experience it.
○
E.g., buying a lottery ticket.
You've never won, but the potential incentive is huge so you still
are motivated to play.
§
○
-
Question: Which of the following best exemplifies the spontaneous nature of a fixed
action pattern?
A primate performing an elaborate mating dance only in the presence of the
opposite sex.
A)
Squinting of the eyelid and narrowing of the pupils in response to bright light.B)
A pregnant female rate preparing a nest prior to giving birth to her first litter.C)
A platypus following its envenomed prey by tracing its scent. D)
Chapter 3: Genetics, Learning & Development
Tuesday, January 30, 2018 4:50 PM
Selective Breeding
The idea of inheritance came from Mendel's work with pea plants.
-
Before this, farmers knew about selective breeding & how it could help them
yield the best crops.
-
Selective breeding: crossing plants with other plants (or animals with animals)
to get an offspring with desirable traits.
-
Agricultural crops
Selective breeding of seeds taken from the highest quality fruits &
vegetables leads to increased quality of agricultural crops over several
generations.
○
E.g., GMOs:
Golden rice - beta carotene added to hopefully help people with
vitamin deficiencies.
§
They help better our produce.
§
Glyphosate ("roundup") - herbicide was killing the crops too
They made GMO plants were grown to be immune to
roundup so that they would still survive.
□
§
○
-
What About In Mammals?
Nature versus nurture?
Behaviour of simple organisms is driven more by genetics than learning -
simpler organisms, simpler behaviours.
○
Learning plays a greater role in complex organisms, such as humans &
primates - complex behaviours in complex species.
○
Learning does not override all natural behaviour, even in the most
complex animals - some behaviours are innate.
○
-
Traits in domestic animals
Dogs
Selected for obedience, bonding to human masters.
§
Selected for docile nature.
§
Selected for defense & aggression.
§
Selected for motivation to hunt foxes, track scents, herd sheep, etc.
§
○
Horses
Selected for obedience, controlled racing, plowing fields,
"bombproof-ness", gentleness.
§
○
Cattle & sheep
Selected for docile nature, tolerance of handling & confinement.
§
○
Cats
Selected for inoffensive behaviour, human contact.
§
○
Lab rodents
Selected for inactivity, non-aggressiveness, tolerance of human
handling, confined spaces.
§
For research purpose, can be selected for different knock-out
genes.
§
○
-
Instinctive Behaviour
Reflexes
Innate involuntary stimulus response.
-
Signals bypass the brain and goes straight to the musculature to respond.
-
Can be simple reflexes or come in complex sets.
-
Human adult reflexes
Breathing, shivering, blinking, hand withdrawal, startle response, knee
jerk, salivation.
○
-
Human infant reflexes
Rooting and suckling -- babies turn inwards when you touch their cheek,
begin suckling when their lip is touched.
Evolved to give the child easy access to food.
§
○
Babinski Reflex -- touch baby's foot and they'll open their toes.
○
Startle (moro) Reflex -- similar to adult response to music
Babies arch back and throw arms up
§
Used to make sure auditory processing is working well.
§
○
Palmer Grasp -- reflex to grab onto anything
Prehistoric - grabbing parent to stabilize
§
Functions for bonding as well.
§
○
Stepping
Hold baby over the ground and they'll innately begin to "walk"
§
Evolution of walking on two feet.
§
○
Tonic Neck Reflex
"Dabbing Reflex"
§
○
-
Fixed Action Patterns
More complex coordinated patterns of instinctive behaviour.
Not simply reflexes, more steps.
○
-
Examples:
Grooming
○
Nest building --rodents don't need to see another rodent build a nest to
know how to do it when they have their own litter.
○
Swimming
○
Rage response in cats -- cats will arch their back and show their teeth
when they are angry.
○
-
Main Principles:
Stereotyped:
Fixed nature of the response.
§
Similar expression across individuals and time.
§
E.g., Grooming in cats -- domestic and wild cats show the same
patterns of behaviours.
§
1.
Independence from Immediate external control:
Sequence of muscular contractions comprising a fixed action
pattern occurs irrespective of changes in external conditions.
§
Once the fixed action pattern is initiated, it will continue until
completion regardless of whether the external environment has
changed.
§
Behaviours not classified as fixed action patterns are directed by
external conditions.
I.e., if the pattern discontinued when the environmental
stimulus changes -- not fixed action pattern anymore.
□
§
Example: Grayling Goose
Goose will continue to do the egg rolling motion when the
egg is removed.
□
§
2.
Spontaneous:
Responds due to internal factors as well as stimuli.
Therefore, you don't need an external onset/stimulus.
□
§
Fluctuations in the threshold of a fixed action pattern occurring are
independent of changes in external conditions.
§
Organism's readiness to perform a fixed action pattern and the
intensity with which the fixed action pattern occurs are positively
correlated with the time elapsed since the fixed action pattern was
last evoked.
When they don't perform a FAP for a long period of time, a
lesser stimuli is necessary to evoke FAP.
□
§
3.
Independence from individual learning:
Many instinctive behavioural patterns occur without any
opportunity to learn them.
§
We don't need to see someone else perform the behaviour in order
to display them.
§
Fluctuations in environmental conditions during development do
not alter the fixed action pattern, assuming the organism is healthy.
§
4.
-
Behavioural Genetics
What genes are responsible for what behaviours?
-
Usually use lab models.
Can be bred for different traits.
○
Can be deprived or moved into different environments.
○
-
Lab animal studies show that we can breed for motivational and emotional
traits.
-
Human studies show that motivational and emotional traits show familial
concordance.
Found from twin studies which allows us to look at whether environment
changes change behaviours (innate versus learned).
○
-
Some simple traits in lab animals are governed by single genes.
Some of these simple behaviours are controlled by dominant genes and
others are controlled by recessive genes.
○
-
Most motivational and emotional traits are governed by multiple genes.
-
Whitney (1969)
Squeaking in mice
C57 mice: rarely vocalize
○
JK mice: 2/3 (67%) vocalize
○
Generation Vocalization %
C57 3%
JK 68%
F1 (C57 x JK) 56%
F1 x C57 26%
F1 x JK 62%
F2 (F1 x F1) 46%
-
When you breed C57 and JK, your generation has vocalization in the middle of
the two.
Same with the other crosses.
○
-
Capping and sealing affects?
-
Mendelian ratios suggest a single dominant gene.
Vocalization is a behaviour controlled by a single dominant gene.
○
-
Van Abeelen (1967)
Dancing in mice
Waltzer mice are observed to dance.
○
They literally just spin around in circiles
○
-
Generation % Dancing
W-Male x W-Female 100%
W x Normal (F1) 0%
F1 x F1 27%
Mendelian ratios suggest a single recessive gene.
-
Lagerspetz (1964)
Male mice will innately fight with each other when placed together, females
will not.
-
Male mice selectively bred for or against aggression over seven generations.
-
Females categorized on aggression based on the aggression score of the
brother.
-
We don't really see a decrease in aggression for non-aggressive mice, but
definitely see an increase in aggression for aggressive group.
-
See figure 3-1
-
DeFries (1978)
Tendency to explore can be amplified or minimized through breeding in
successive generations.
-
Exploratory behaviour vs fear/anxiety behaviours.
-
You can heavily select for each behaviour over generations.
-
Plomin (1994)
Twin comparisons:
Monozygotic or identical twins (MZ) compared to dizygotic or fraternal
twins (DZ).
MZ, r = 1.0
§
DZ, r = 0.5
§
○
MZ (black bars)
Show higher proportion/concordance of the diseases/disorders.
§
Therefore, there's some genetic component.
§
○
-
Can also compare twins reared apart vs twins reared together.
-
Tellegen (1988)
Twin comparisons
-
MZ vs DZ
-
Reared apart vs reared together.
-
For MZ twins, whether they were reared apart or together is irrelevant for
many traits.
Therefore, there are genetic components to many of these traits.
○
-
For MZT and DZT
Although both reared together, MZ twins still more similar on most traits.
○
Traditionalism and absorption show stronger environmental factors.
○
-
Therefore, behaviours may have strong genetic components and/or
environmental factors.
-
Learning and Flexibility
The environment can change faster than evolution progress.
-
Learning allows adaptation to changing and complex environments within the
individual's lifetime.
-
Ability to learn can be driven by genetics.
-
Learning greatest in K-selection species.
-
Exploration
Most animals explore new environments.
○
Genetic basis of tendency to explore.
○
Food, water, shelter, possible danger must be sought out and evaluated.
○
Allows individuals to learn where they are/how to get things.
○
-
Play
Observed in many mammalian species, including primates, marine
mammals, ungulates, rodents.
○
Helps with motor behaviours and dexterity in primates.
○
Wrestling, attack play - good practice for defense skills you might need.
○
Allows them to learn behaviours that could help them later on.
○
-
Simple Learning
Habituation: repeated exposure to a stimulus tends to lead to reduced
responses to that stimulus.
Basically, you get bored.
○
-
Sensitization: repeated exposure to a stimulus produces enhanced responses to
that stimulus.
-
Not complex -- simply done by exposure.
Can be found in simple organisms.
○
-
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov's Experiment
Present food to dog, salivation is the innate response.
-
Pair food with bell, repeatedly/consistently, when you ring bell without food,
salivation will occur.
-
Note, CR & UR are the same in most cases.
But it depends on the situation.
○
E.g., Compensation with drugs.
When you take drugs in same location, your body will prepare for
you to take drugs (e.g., HR decreasing).
§
UR = hear rate increase, CR = HR decrease.
§
○
-
Before Conditioning:
The unconditional stimulus (US) naturally elicits the unconditional
response (UR) in the absence of any conditioning or learning.
○
The conditional stimulus (CS) does not elicit any response in the absence
of conditioning or learning.
○
-
During Conditioning:
The conditional stimulus (CS) is repeatedly paired with the unconditional
stimulus (US), which naturally elicits the unconditional response (UR).
○
-
After Conditioning:
Learning has occurred when the conditional stimulus (CS) now elicits the
conditional response (CR) on its own.
○
The CR may be the same or different from the UR.
○
-
Garcia's Experiment: Conditioned Taste Aversion
Drive for food -- hunger.
-
Radiation creates illness.
-
They radiated mice when feeding it novel food.
-
The mouse thought that the food was the reason it was sick.
Even after hours between food and radiation, still see same effect.
○
-
Learned in one trial.
-
Classical Conditioning and Emotions
Contexts may come to elicit emotions after association with stimuli that
naturally elicit these emotions.
Specific contexts can make stimuli more positive or more negative.
○
-
Examples include conditioning of traumatic, sexual, or gratifying stimuli.
-
Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning
Positive
Stimulus introduced following a response.
○
-
Negative
Stimulus withdrawn following a response.
○
-
Reinforcement
Consequence that causes the frequency of a response to increase.
○
-
Punishment
Consequence that causes the frequency of a response to decrease.
○
-
Reinforcement Punishment
+Positive Reinforcement
(Reinforcement)
Response followed by
introduction of an appetitive
stimulus
-
Frequency of response will
increase.
-
Positive Punishment (Punishment)
Response followed by
introduction of an aversive
stimulus.
-
Frequency of response will
decreases.
-
-Negative Reinforcement (Escape)
Response followed by removal
of an aversive stimulus
-
Frequency of response will
increase.
-
Negative Punishment (Omission)
Response followed by removal
of an appetitive stimulus.
-
Frequency of response will
decrease.
-
In other words, people tend to repeat responses that are gratifying and tend
not to repeat responses with unfavorable outcomes.
-
Extinction: if a response is no longer reinforced, the response will eventually
decrease in frequency until it no longer occurs.
-
Physiology of Reinforcement
Nucleus accumbens is the location in the brain responsible for rewards.
-
It's part of the dopamine (reward) pathway
Rewards increase dopamine.
○
Anything we associate with pleasure (food, drink, sex, etc.) activates the
nucleus accumbens.
○
-
Raises questions about what arouses us.
-
Conditioning May Not Override Fixed Action Potentials
Mice can learn to avoid a foot shock by running to the other side of a cage
when a light predicts the shock.
-
Mice will run to safety when the light is behind them.
-
Mice will not run towards the light when it is above the safe zone.
Why? Evolution of escape behaviour.
○
-
Breland and Breland (1961)
Trained animals for movies.
-
Attempted to train raccoons and pigs to deposit a coin into a piggy bank.
But, overtime animals wouldn't perform specific tasks or they'd do it with
○
-
Raccoons would constantly rub the coins despite no reinforcement to do so.
Rubbing is a FAP.
○
-
Pigs would constantly drop the coins and "root" despite no reinforcement to do
so.
Dropping and "rooting" is FAP.
○
-
Training couldn't stop the animals from doing the FAP behaviours.
"A clear and utter failure of conditioning theory"
○
-
Vicarious Learning
Contagion
When someone performs a behaviour, people around them adopt this
behaviour as well.
○
E.g., Entire class feeling sick
Thought it was coke so many others who drank coke began to feel
sick too.
§
Social contagion.
§
Really, it was just one girl with a flu.
§
○
-
Imitation
Watching someone perform a behaviour and then repeating it.
○
-
Modelling
Like imitation, but the actor is actually guiding the person.
○
-
Incentives and Behaviours
Does not require direct experience with rewards and punishments.
-
A cognitive representation of potential rewards and punishments can motivate.
Humans can imagine rewards/punishments without actually needing to
experience it.
○
E.g., buying a lottery ticket.
You've never won, but the potential incentive is huge so you still
are motivated to play.
§
○
-
Question: Which of the following best exemplifies the spontaneous nature of a fixed
action pattern?
A primate performing an elaborate mating dance only in the presence of the
opposite sex.
A)
Squinting of the eyelid and narrowing of the pupils in response to bright light.B)
A pregnant female rate preparing a nest prior to giving birth to her first litter.C)
A platypus following its envenomed prey by tracing its scent. D)
Chapter 3: Genetics, Learning & Development
Tuesday, January 30, 2018 4:50 PM
Document Summary
The idea of inheritance came from mendel"s work with pea plants. Before this, farmers knew about selective breeding & how it could help them yield the best crops. Selective breeding: crossing plants with other plants (or animals with animals) to get an offspring with desirable traits. Selective breeding of seeds taken from the highest quality fruits & vegetables leads to increased quality of agricultural crops over several generations. Golden rice - beta carotene added to hopefully help people with vitamin deficiencies. Glyphosate (roundup) - herbicide was killing the crops too. They made gmo plants were grown to be immune to roundup so that they would still survive. Behaviour of simple organisms is driven more by genetics than learning - simpler organisms, simpler behaviours. Learning plays a greater role in complex organisms, such as humans & primates - complex behaviours in complex species. Learning does not override all natural behaviour, even in the most complex animals - some behaviours are innate.
