Animal Behaviour - Discrimination and Categorization
Discrimination learning shares key features with classical conditioning, as both involve forming associations between stimuli. In discrimination, animals learn to respond differently to distinct stimuli based on their predictive value, refining their behavioural responses over time.
What type of learning does discrimination share important features with?
Classical conditioning
Key Terms
What type of learning does discrimination share important features with?
Classical conditioning
Define discrimination
Telling things apart
Define categorization
Grouping things together
How is discrimination of physical stimuli determined?
Stimulus generalisation
Why does discrimination/generalisation occur in the wild?
Adaptive - identify predator/sexual partner/food/hiding place etc.
Define learning
A continuous process mediated by experience with stimuli and reinforcement
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
What type of learning does discrimination share important features with? | Classical conditioning |
Define discrimination | Telling things apart |
Define categorization | Grouping things together |
How is discrimination of physical stimuli determined? | Stimulus generalisation |
Why does discrimination/generalisation occur in the wild? | Adaptive - identify predator/sexual partner/food/hiding place etc. |
Define learning | A continuous process mediated by experience with stimuli and reinforcement |
What two features will learning of a correct response be dependent upon? | S+ - the reinforcement of the correct stimulus S- - to a LESSER degree, the negative outcome of an incorrect response |
What is the strength of a response determined by? | Excitation - Inhibition |
Who studied pigeon responses to colour stimuli? What were they investigating? | Excitatory stimulus generalisation Spence |
What are extinction conditions? | Nothing is rewarded, leading to a decrease in the previously rewarded behaviour |
What does the training phase of a transposition experiment consist of? Eg.? | Eg. Reinforcing one wavelength of colour (grey), ignoring another colour (white) to produce a wavelength curve of most avoidance and most activity . |
What does the first test of a transposition experiment consist of? | Interference of activation and inhibition curve causing certain probe stimuli to be more likely to elicit a positive response. |
Which curve has the greatest magnitude, activation or inhibition? | Activation |
What determines the stimulus most likely to be responded to? What model is this known as? | Greatest difference between activation and inhibition curves Spence model |
What type of stimuli is the Spence model good at predicting outcomes for? | One dimensional stimuli eg. colour or sound |
What type of model is the Spence model? | Associationist/Connectionist |
What type of model other than associationist may explain discrimination responses? | Cognitive - Making a rule eg. “always choose darker” Requires higher thinking and not seen in simple experiments |
What is peak shift? | If animal is reinforced for responding to S+, maximum response is seen around S+ If animal is negatively reinforced with S-, peak response will no longer be observed at S+ - it will move to avoid S- |
Reference a study regarding peak shift | Dougherty and Lewis, 1991 - peak shift in horses |
Why does peak shift occur evolutionarily? | Animals “play it safe” - more important to avoid danger than get a reward This means they may not respond optimally in response to rewards |
How may animals discriminating “time” be otherwise explained? | Direct perception of hunger/light/temperature/other environmental cues |
Give a study potentially showing chickens are able to anticipate the future and exercise self control | Abeyesinghe et al 2005 - Will only show self control if the jackpot reward was big enough |
Discrimination is the bases of categorisation - what physical attributes may be discriminated? | Shape, colour, size etc. |
How is categorisation different from discrimination? | Novel stimuli can be inserted which are responded to correctly based on the pre-formed rule of discrimination. |
What is a probe test? | A novel, previously unencountered stimulus that tests the animal's response based on past experiences |
What is the associationist theory of categorisation? | Simply generalising physical similarity, with no abstraction. Memorise rewarded stimuli individually Learn particular common features (exemplar) Generalise from central tendency (Prototype) |
How does a concept differ from a category? | Requires some level of abstraction - an idea of a class of objects NOT purely based on physical similarity |
What are the two types of concept? | Absolute - eg. this is an animal Relational - simpler- eg. this is bigger, this is smaller complex - eg. same/different |
What was the name of the parrot with apparent conceptual ability | Alex (Owner Irene Pepperberg) |
Give an example of a study of simple relational concepts | Hanggi 2003 Bigger/Smaller in Horses |
Give 2 examples of ways more complex relational concepts can be investigated | Same/Different Delayed match to sample Simultaneous arrays |
How has it been suggested that same/different arrays are interpreted? | Entropy |
What must be remembered when assigning cognitive models to behaviour? | Hard to rule out simpler processes being responsible for apparently complex learning |