How is learning defined for this course?
A relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience. Response to cue in environment that is retained.
Paper wasps are similar to what 2 groups of vertebrate animals in that they exhibit facial learning?
Monkeys and rats
What was the task used to test paper wasps for facial learning? Which visual stimuli resulted in facial learning? Which species of paper wasps show facial learning; P.

fiscatus or P. metricus?

Associated shock or no shock with visual cue. Learned when shock was paired with a wasp face. P. fiscatus was able to show facial learning
What is phenotypic plasticity? Are all forms of learning considered phenotypic plasticity? Are all forms of phenotypic plasticity considered learning?
Refers to an organism's ability to produce different phenotypes in response to the environment. Learning is a type of this, but not all learning is phenotypic plasticity.

2 examples of phenotypic plasticity that do not involve learning
Spine formation in the sea mat Flushing behavior in the painted redstart
What triggers spine formation in the sea mat?
Exposure to chemical stimulus from predators causes spine formation.
Why do painted redstarts show flushing behavior if it is not learned?
Behavior is genetically programmed.
What are 3 common types of experiences that lead to learning?
Single stimulus, stimulus-stimulus, response-reinforcer.
What are 2 examples of single stimulus learning?
HABITUATION: Rat pays less attention each time.

SENSITIZATION: rat pays more attention each time.

With regards to Pavlovian conditioning, what are the 2 general types of stimuli and conditioning that are possible?
APPETITIVE: postive, pleasant. AVERSIVE: negative, unpleasant.
what is learnability and what are the 3 types?
Overshadowing, blocking, latent inhibition.
How do overshadowing, blocking, and latent inhibition affect learning?
OVERSHADOWING: decreased response to one CS due to the simultaneous presentation of a second CS during training.

The presence of a second CS during training weakens the association between the first CS and the US. BLOCKING: Prior association between a CS and US can interfere or block learning to associate a different CS with the same US. Response to a CS is weaker in animals that have made a previous association between the US and a different CS. LATENT INHIBITION: Previous exposure to a stimulus with no consequence interferes with or inhibits an animal's ability to form associations with it.

What is instrumental conditioning? What kind of association is made in this type of learning?
Animal's response is reinforced or increased by a reward or the end of an aversive stimulus or it's suppressed by an aversive stimulus or termination of a reward. Behavior is linked to some kind of value to the animal.

z

What is Thorndyke's law of effect?
If a response in the presence of a stimulus is followed by a positive event, the association between the response and the stimulus is strengthened. If response is followed by an aversive event, the association will be weakened.
What testing apparatuses did Thorndyke and Skinner use for their instrumental conditioning studies?
Thorndike used a puzzle box to study instrumental learning, able to track a decrease in time needed to escape with practice. Skinner invented the operant conditioning box which allowed for continuous monitoring of behavior.

In the case study of optimal memory in mantis shrimp, how long did males and female shrimp 'recognize' each other? What might be an important factor in maintaining recognition memory between males and females that have recently mated?
At least 2 weeks after breeding. Suggests that natural selection can determine how long memories are kept.
2 examples of population comparisons that demonstrate effects of natural selection of learning
Foraging tasks in Zenaida doves Predator avoidance in stickleback fish
How does living arrangement affect learning of foraging tasks in doves?
In experiments, as the tasks got more difficult, group-living population was more successful.
How does the background of naive offspring of stickle back fish influence learning about food and predators?
Both stocks of fish were equal in learning about food location, predator-rich offspring were much faster at learning to avoid a simulated predator.
Two learning theories dealing with a cost-benefit perspectives
trade-off between learning and lifespan Predictability or stability in the environment within-lifetime and between-generation influences balance between learning and genetically determine responses.

What are 4 important things that animals learn about?
Predators, mates, family and aggression
How does the case study of damselfly larvae and anti predator behavior allow us distinguish between behavior that is innate and behavior that is learned?
Larvae decreased foraging behavior when exposed to water from pike fed natural prey, but not unnatural prey. They used chemical cues that were innate.
How does training affect anti predator behavior in hellbender salamanders? What type of training is used? Pavlovian? Instrumental?
Trained animals moved more quickly in response to odor than untrained animals. Classical conditioning Pavlovian.
How does parental investment relate to the ability to learn about mates in different animal species?
Animals with low parental investment by males, males show greater learning ability. Animals with equal parental investment, learning ability of males and females is similar.

How do long-tailed tits learn about family? What is the evidence of this learning?
Recognize churr call. Parents and young sound similar cross-fostered unrelated young sound like adoptive parents related young raised apart sound different.