Lecture 11 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Lecture 11 Deck (13)
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1
Q

Can invertebrates learn?

A

Yes, it has been found that bees can be conditioned to request for food and octopi have been found to learn as well.

2
Q

Define associative learning and describe the 2 types of it

A

Associative learning is that which involves at least 2 events; a stimulus and a response. One event must evoke the other and one learns to associate the event with another.
The two types; Classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is when one learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a response. For example, Pavlov’s dog’s learnt that when the neutral stimulus of a bell rang, that they would receive food. Operant conditioning is a trial and error type of learning. This is when one associates a behaviour with a response as they are reinforced when they perform the correct behaviour. E.g. giving a dog a treat after they sit.

3
Q

List 3 categories of learning behaviour and give an example of each

A

Non-associative learning; this involves a single event such as habituation
Associative learning; this involves operant and classical conditioning
Cognitive learning; this involves processes such as thinking, reasoning and problem solving.
The more flexible one is in learning, the more beneficial it is for them.

4
Q

Discuss 2 perspectives about the process of learning

A

It is important to note that these perspectives are not mutually exclusive.
The continuity view of learning believes that it is a gradual process. Thorndike follows this viewpoint.
However, insight learning believes that it is an abrupt process. Kohler believed in this one and argues that we have abrupt changes in our behaviour when solving a problem, like a flash of inspiration. This has also been found in chimps. For example, studies have found that when a chimp is trying to get a peanut out of a tube, they spontaneously use their drinking water to fill up the tube, causing the peanut to float to the top. This is a spontaneous act of learning. In contrast of this, other explanations have suggested that the chimp just had an understanding of causal relationships.

5
Q

Give 3 examples of animals understanding causal relationships and give an alternate term for causal relationships

A

Macaques have learnt to understand that a heavy rock could smash open a nut.
Crows can learn to make tools from watching other crows using tools to get food.
Some studies have found chimps passing the trap tube test. They are given a stick to get food out of a tube. However, if they push the food the wrong way then it will fall down a hole and be unretrievable. Thus, they must understand the cause of their behaviour to get it right. Studies have found insignificant results from this and claim that the chimps learnt from trial and error rather than from understanding the results of their actions.
Alternate term: Folk physics; where one has a common sense appreciation about causal properties of objects.

6
Q

Discuss infant learning

A

Young animals have a different ontogenetic niche to their parents. They are adapted to have traits that promote survival and development until they reach sexual maturity. These adaptations can be social and non-social. Social adaptations can be things such as neonatal imitation. There is a long developmental period for primates and their parents are very nurturing, therefore, neonates need to be adapted to respond well to their parents. There is a lot of evidence supporting this as it has been found that human neonates can perceive and respond to social cues presented by their mother. For example, when mothers speak, babies alter their suckling rate and they also imitate adults around them. Furthermore, it has been found that neonatal macaques imitate facial cues and their mothers have been found to show exaggerated behaviours around their child. Neonatal imitation disappears after a few months, once the neonates develop more skills. Additionally, when primates are born, they have small brains so that they can fit through the birth canal. Thus, many abilities do not develop until about the age of 3/4 years of age. This is when clear differences between humans and other primates emerge.

7
Q

Discuss culture in other animals

A

It is easier to learn from others via social learning than it is to learn independently. There is evidence of chimpanzees performing social learning. Furthermore, there is evidence of culture in some macaques, for example, one population of macaques wash potatoes before eating them. This is evidence of culture because it involves social transmission of behaviours over time within a population (this behaviour is not performed across the whole species). Research has empirically tested for this as well. Whiten et al. taught a captive chimp an adaptive behaviour and this spread through that population. However, although this evidence seems compelling, it is unnatural and has low ecological validity, so one cannot take this as fact. Regarding this, many wild populations show evidence for unique behaviours spreading socially, such as tool use, using leaves as sponges, washing with soap etc. These behaviours have been found, via phylogenetic analysis, to happen socially and not because of ancestry or genes. Davila-Ross found that different populations have unique ways to open up the same piece of fruit. She also found differences in responses to laughter and hand clasp grooming.

8
Q

Discuss the issues with analysing an animal’s behaviour

A

Sometimes researchers can have anthropomorphic views and misinterpret an animal’s behaviour. This shows how crucial it is to understand how animals learn to see whether it is an understanding or an alternate simpler explanation. For example, one study observed capuchin monkeys getting agitated when another monkey is rewarded with nice food and they are not. They interpreted this as the monkey understanding that the situation was unfair when it could just be that the monkey was annoyed it did not get the food it wanted, as it had learned to expect it in this situation.
Additionally, one study claimed that pigeons can combine separately learned behaviours to solve a problem when they actually just used trial and error and were reinforced by food (associative learning).
Clever Hans could not actually add math sums or learn concepts, he just learned to respond to extremely subtle cues. This is the experimenter expectancy effect as the researcher’s cognitive bias caused him to subconsciously influence the participant in the experiment.

9
Q

Discuss Veit’s study

A

They found evidence for associative learning in crows and showed how their learning is flexible. They explored an area of the brain that is thought to mediate flexible behaviour. The neurons in this area of the brain changed its responses to signal which stimuli belong together and it was found that the crows grouped the stimuli by meaning. This shows how crows learn; they establish connections between stimuli through associations. Furthermore, the fact that the neurons were flexible and could change to match stimuli, provides a fitness advantage for the crow as they could respond appropriately in novel situations in their natural environment.

10
Q

Discuss Whiten’s study

A

They found evidence that chimps can learn behaviour from others in the population. This is an example of culture in non-humans. Furthermore, 39 different behavioural patterns among different populations have been documented, from grooming to tool use, suggesting that chimps are very able with their social learning and complex behavioural differences can arise. Furthermore, in birds, only one behavioural difference emerges among different populations and this is song-bird dialect. This emphasises further the ability of how chimps learn various unique behaviour.

11
Q

Discuss Conway’s study

A

They found that primates learn in very similar ways to humans in terms of sequential learning. The researchers tested for different types of this; arbitrary learning (fixed sequences), statistical learning and hierarchical learning (the organisation of phrases). The chimps were able to do all types apart from hierarchical learning.

12
Q

Discuss Call’s study

A

They explored whether chimps emulate or imitate behaviour. Some of the chimps were only shown the tube once it had been opened and some tubes were opened at the top and some opened in the middle. It was found that the chimps reproduced the environmental results whereas the human participants imitated the actual behaviour. This shows how a chimp’s learning is based on environmental effects rather than based on the individual performing the behaviour, suggesting that learning is not always as social as it may seem.

13
Q

Discuss Maestripieri’s study

A

They explored infant social learning in macaques and found that infants learn specific behaviours from their mothers. It was found that mothers who were abusive in their parenting raised female macaques who were then abusive to their children. The macaques who had non-abusive parents were not abusive to their offspring. This shows that the abusive behaviour was learnt through the child observing their mother’s behaviour, making it clear how some animals learn particular behaviours.