PSYCO282 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Reflex Arc, Startle Response, Orienting Response
17 May 2016
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Describe the startle response, orienting response, and flexion response. A reflex is the most basic form of elicited behaviour. It is a simple, automatic response to a stimulus. Startle response: a defensive reaction to a sudden, unexpected stimulus that causes tightening of skeletal muscles and changes in various hormones and internal organs. Orienting response: the automatic positioning of ourselves towards the stimulus (i. e. , loud/unfamiliar noise) Flexion response: automatically jerking hands/feet away from a hot or sharp object: describe, or diagram, the sequence of events in a reflex arc. A fixed action pattern is a fixed sequence of response elicited by a specific stimulus. A few examples are spiders building webs and ducks flying in a v-formation. A sign stimulus/releaser is the specific stimulus that elicits the fixed action. Principles of behaviorism: define habituation and sensitization. Habituation: a decrease in the strength of an elicited behaviour following repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus. (example: ignoring background noise)
