A.4 Innate and learned behaviour

IB Syllabus Statements

Understandings:

Innate behaviour is inherited from parents and so develops independently of the environment.
Autonomic and involuntary responses are referred to as reflexes.
Reflex arcs comprise the neurons that mediate reflexes.
Reflex conditioning involves forming new associations.
Learned behaviour develops as a result of experience.
Imprinting is learning occurring at a particular life stage and is independent of the consequences of behaviour.
Operant conditioning is a form of learning that consists of trial and error experiences.
Learning is the acquisition of skill or knowledge.
Memory is the process of encoding, storing and accessing information.

Applications and skills:

Application: Withdrawal reflex of the hand from a painful stimulus.
Application: Pavlov’s experiments into reflex conditioning in dogs.
Application: The role of inheritance and learning in the development of birdsong.
Skill: Analysis of data from invertebrate behaviour experiments in terms of the effect on chances of survival and reproduction.
Skill: Drawing and labelling a diagram of a reflex arc for a pain withdrawal reflex.

Outline how laboratory experiments and field investigations aid the understanding of different types of behaviour and learning.
Compare innate behavior to learned behavior.
What are autonomic and involuntary responses?
Outline how reflex arcs mediate reflexes.
Explain what is meant by reflex conditioning, and discuss Pavlov’s experiments on dogs.
Define imprinting.
Explain operant conditioning as a form of learning.
Define learning.
Outline the memory process.
Explain the withdrawal reflex of the hand from a painful stimulus.
Outline the role of inheritance and learning in the development of birdsong.
Explain how you would analyze data from invertebrate behavior experiments in terms of the effect on chances of survival and reproduction.
Explain how you would draw and label a diagram of the reflex arc for a pain withdrawal reflex, including the receptor cell, sensory neuron, relay neuron, motor neuron and effector.