Learning & Motivation Chapter 2

Front 1

Elicited Behaviors

Back 1

occur in response to environmental stimulus

can be very simple = reflex
complex= social behavior

Front 2

Reflex

Back 2

has two components
1. eliciting stimulus = happens really consistently
2. corresponding response = rarely happens in absence of ES

example: sneezing (occurs only when there's nasal irritation)

Front 3

neurons activated by reflex

Back 3

skin receptor -> muscle -> sensory neuron (goes in) ->interneuron -> motor neuron (goes out)

goes in - afferent
goes out - efferent

Front 4

Modal Action Patterns

Back 4

Patterns or series of elicited behaviors that are species specific

ex: mating, territorial defense, feeding, fear, cats

Front 5

Sign stimulus

Back 5

also called releasing stimulus...

features that specifically elicit the modal action pattern

Front 6

supernormal stimulus

Back 6

exaagerated stimulus not found in nature that triggers the most vigorous responding

*traumatic event, war PTSD

Front 7

Habituation

Back 7

decline in responding that occurs with repeated presentation of the stimulus

ex: clock chiming

Front 8

Sensitization

Back 8

increase in response to the environmental stimulus
ex: hearing of fire alarm, shock, emotional state matters

Front 9

habituation vs. sensitization study

Back 9

babies looked at visual stimulus of either 4x4 checkered square or 12x12 square

4x4 group showed habituation and decreased in time looking after 1st trial

12x12 group sensitized and looked at stimulus longer the second trial, but then finally habituated

Front 10

Startle paradigm

Back 10

rats exposed to noise, over time ignores it

had two groups, 60db vs 80 db of background noise

the startle magnitude decreased with the 60db group over time while the 80db group increased their startle magnitude

could be because of the db of background noise. could already be anxious from the noise (ex. watching scary movie and tap on shoulder)

Front 11

habituation vs. other processes

Back 11

sensory adaptation - temporary decrease in sensitivity of sensory neurons

response fatigue

Front 12

how to rule out sensory adaptation?

Back 12

decrease in responding is response specific

so you could pair tone with new stimulus

Front 13

Opponent Process Theory

Back 13

early exposures lead to strong primary emotion (A process)

opposite to the primary emotion, causes a decrease in primary emotion (b process)

What happens when A disappears depends on how long B has been present
ex: new car(A) crashes

homeostatic theory. that is, how it controls emotions and internal physiology

Front 14

Assumptions of OP Theory

Back 14

1. the B process gets stronger over time, but A process is stable

2. B process occurs more quickly in response to A

3. B process is slower to decay when stimulus is removed
Net effect depends on stability of B process