PSYC 356 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Herring Gull, Fixed Action Pattern, Primitive Reflexes
Document Summary
Stimulus: an agent, action or condition that elicits a physiological or psychological response. Response: a unit of behavior; a discrete and usually reoccurring segment of behavior. Elicited behavior: behavior that occurs in response to specific environmental stimuli. Simplest form of elicited behavior: knee tap kick, loud noise startle. Anatomically specific, can be modified by the brain (through conditioning) Adaptive (flexion vs. extension); respond in a way that will prevent further injury (via spinal cord) Can change with development: grasping (final cause, rooting reflex-- head turn and suckling, respiratory occlusion reflex. Simple reflexes often occur across species (startles, eye blink) these are not maps. Orderly sequences of reflexive behavior served evolutionary purpose (final cause) Model action patterns (maps): complex, species-specific response sequences. Example: herring gull regurgitates food to feed young. Part of the repertoire of all species members. Not the result of prior learning; it is hardwired.
