Psych Chapter 6- Responses to Stimuli
What are instincts?
They are a form of innate response to a stimulus. There is no need for learning and contain set response that do not vary in repertoire. They are very species specific and can often be linked to critical periods
What are instincts (Modal Action Patterns (MAPS))?
They are fixed pattern of responses to a stimulus or stimuli that involve a sustained bodily response.
How do reflexes happen?
They are mediated by the spinal or cranial nerves and there is no "higher" thinking involved.
What are innate responses?
They are responses to stimuli that are produced by an organism without thought or a requirement of a previous exposure.
What are reflexes?
They are responses to stimuli that involve individual muscles.
What are taxis?
They are responses to stimuli that involve the entire body.
What are responses?
They are the organism's behavior exhibited in as a result of that stimulus
What can reflexes be linked to?
They can be linked to survival but are not "learned"
When do reflexes happen?
They sometimes emerge at points in life, and sometimes are present throughout life.
What animal demonstrates an example of reflexes?
Aplysia (sea slug)
Why don't people change their instincts, taxes, and reflexes even thought this is threatening certain survival? What must an organism possess for behavior to change?
Instincts, taxes, and reflexes are passed down genetically to offspring and experience cannot change the information that is passed down. For behavior to change, an organism must possess the ability to "learn" and "adapt."
What does behaviorism focus on?
It focuses on learning, which includes classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
What is chemotaxis? What is an example?
It is a response to chemicals. Examples including response to burning sensation and ants following each other in a line to food.
What is phototaxis? What is an example of phototaxis?
It is a response to light stimuli. An example of phototaxis is phototropism, which involves moving toward light. Another example is rats running from the bright light.
What is phonotaxis? What is an example?
It is a response to sound stimuli. An example is when one startles and avoids response to sound.
What is behaviorism?
It is a stimulus-response relationship that is not innate.
What is a stimulus?
It is an event that occurs in the environment.
What is operant conditioning
It is learning how to adjunct behavior
What is classical conditioning?
It is learning how to pair stimuli
What did the stimulus-response focus on?
It started focusing on innate versus learned responses.
In recent decades, why did the number of sea turtles in the world experience a sharp decline?
Moon light and water temperature are stimuli that initiate this egg laying instinct. Overtime, light pollution and environmental changes have messed with the prevalence of these stimuli and upset the order of actions that the sea turtles have relied on for centuries in order to survive.
What are critical periods?
Periods of infancy or birth when imprinting happens and aggressive tendencies develop.
What are some forms of taxis?
Phonotaxis Phototaxis Chemotaxis
What are the three types of innate responses?
Reflexes, taxis, instincts.
What happened in the 1900s when the field of psychology became popular?
Researchers started turning their attention to the end result of sensation and perception and instead, toward the response that an organism gives to the stimulus.
What are some examples of reflexes?
Rooting, sucking, babinski reflexes Patellar, eye blink, sneeze, and cough reflexes
What are some examples of instincts?
Imprinting in Grelag Geese Herding Instincts of specific dog species Egg laying of sea turtles.
Where have reflexes been found?
In almost all species
