scholarly journals Habituation of the Light-Startle Response of Orange Head Cockroaches (Eublaberus posticus): Effects of Acclimation, Stimulus Duration, Presence of Food, and Intertrial Interval

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 339
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Varnon ◽  
Ann Taylor Adams
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
Stimulus Duration ◽  
Startle Response ◽  
Intertrial Interval ◽  
Spontaneous Recovery ◽  
Comparative Psychology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Final Experiment ◽  
Eublaberus Posticus

The purpose of this paper is to establish the orange head cockroach (Eublaberus posticus) as a useful insect subject for research in comparative psychology by investigating habituation of the light-startle response (LSR). While one goal of comparative psychology is to compare the behavior of a diversity of species, many taxa, including cockroaches, are grossly underrepresented. Our work serves to improve this deficit by investigating habituation learning in the orange head cockroach in four experiments. In our first experiment, we found that LSR, and habituation of LSR, occurs to both lights being turned on and lights being turned off. In our second experiment, we found that the duration of a light did not affect response, and that spontaneous recovery of LSR occurs after 24 h intervals. In our third experiment, we found that the presence of food inhibited LSR. In our final experiment, we found that the rate of LSR habituation decreased as intertrial interval increased, in a manner predicted by established principles of habituation. Our work lays a strong foundation for future research on the behavior of orange head cockroaches as well as learning in cockroaches in general. We hope that our findings help establish cockroaches as practical insect subjects for research in comparative psychology and related fields such as behavior analysis and behavioral ecology.

THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC: INNATENESS, UNIQUENESS, AND EVOLUTION

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSH McDERMOTT ◽  
MARC HAUSER
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Comparative Psychology ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
The Past ◽  
Evolution Of Music ◽  
Basic Features

THE ORIGINS and adaptive significance of music, long an elusive target, are now active topics of empirical study, with many interesting developments over the past few years. This article reviews research in anthropology, ethnomusicology, developmental and comparative psychology, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology that bears on questions concerning the origins and evolution of music. We focus on the hypothesis that music perception is constrained by innate, possibly human- and musicspecific principles of organization, as these are candidates for evolutionary explanations. We begin by discussing the distinct roles of different fields of inquiry in constraining claims about innateness and adaptation, and then proceed to review the available evidence. Although research on many of these topics is still in its infancy, at present there is converging evidence that a few basic features of music (relative pitch, the importance of the octave, intervals with simple ratios, tonality, and perhaps elementary musical preferences) are determined in part by innate constraints. At present, it is unclear how many of these constraints are uniquely human and specific to music. Many, however, are unlikely to be adaptations for music, but rather are probably side effects of more general-purpose mechanisms. We conclude by reiterating the significance of identifying processes that are innate, unique to humans, and specific to music, and highlight several possible directions for future research.

Group Size, Habitat Use and Behavioral Ecology of Amazonian River Dolphins (Inia geoffrensis and Sotalia fluviatilis) in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Peru

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Hall
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
Habitat Preference ◽  
Risk Group ◽  
Future Research ◽  
International Union ◽  
Inia Geoffrensis ◽  
Ecological Parameters ◽  
Sotalia Fluviatilis ◽  
Existing Data

Presentation Title: River dolphins globally represent a highly at risk group of mammals. Most river dolphin species inhabit the world’s large rivers, which are also highly populated and heavily utilized. The focus of my research was on the two species of freshwater dolphins that inhabit the Amazon River, the boto (Inia geoffrensis) and the tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis). Currently both species are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as ‘Data Defficient’, which means there is currently not enough information known about them to accurately assess whether or not they are endangered. Major gaps in research of these two species currently exist in many basic biological and ecological parameters. The focus of this research was to compare existing data on group size and habitat preference as well as determine the behavioral ecology of the two species of river dolphins. The research was conducted in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Peru, which has a relatively high density of river dolphins. The reserve consists of many small tributaries, which are relatively understudied and so the conclusions drawn from this research will help guide future research and management decisions in other regions of the Amazon.

Reducing Low-Value Practices a Functional-Contextual Consideration to Aid in De-Implementation Efforts

2020 ◽  
pp. 082957352097491
Author(s):  
Ryan L. Farmer ◽  
Imad Zaheer ◽  
Gary J. Duhon ◽  
Stephanie Ghazal
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Applied Behavior Analysis ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Operant Learning ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices

Through innovation in research and self-correction, it is inevitable that some practices will be replaced or be discredited for one reason or another. De-implementation of discredited and low-value practices is a necessary step for school psychologists’ maintenance of evidence-based practices and to reduce unnecessary costs and risk. However, efforts to clarify de-implementation frameworks and strategies are ongoing. The scope of this paper follows McKay et al. in considering the potential for de-implementation strategies to be informed by applied behavior analysis and operant learning theory. We conceptualize low-value practice as sets of behaviors evoked by their context and maintained by their consequences, and thus de-implementation as behavior reduction. We discuss the need for future research given this perspective.

A Review of Recent Research on the Manipulation of Response Effort in Applied Behavior Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 014544552090850 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Wilder ◽  
Hallie M. Ertel ◽  
Daniel J. Cymbal
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
Applied Behavior Analysis ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Response Effort ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms ◽  
Desirable Behavior ◽  
Force Pressure

Response effort refers to the distance, force/pressure, or number of discrete behaviors required to engage in a response. In applied behavior analysis, response effort has been used as an independent variable to address a variety of target responses. In this manuscript, we summarize recent clinical and organizational studies in which response effort was manipulated to increase a desirable behavior or decrease a problematic behavior. Recent clinical applications include the manipulation of response effort to decrease self-injurious behavior and pica and increase appropriate eating, compliance, and manding. Recent organizational applications include the manipulation of response effort to increase safety and recycling. We also review the collection of data on treatment integrity, social validity, and maintenance in response effort research and analyze the effectiveness of response effort manipulations. We conclude by discussing the putative behavioral mechanisms responsible for the effects of response effort manipulations and by providing some directions for future research.

scholarly journals Comparisons of Animal “Smart” Using The First Four Stages of the Model of Hierarchical Complexity

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansi J. Shah ◽  
Michael L. Commons ◽  
William J. Harrigan
Keyword(s):  
Operant Conditioning ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Comparative Psychology ◽  
Behavioral Model ◽  
Ordinal Scale ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Respondent Conditioning ◽  
Hierarchical Complexity ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Using Data

The Model of Hierarchical Complexity is a behavioral model of development and evolution of the complexity of behavior. It is based on task analysis. Tasks are ordered in terms of their hierarchical complexity, which is an ordinal scale that measures difficulty. The hierarchical difficulty of tasks is categorized as the order of hierarchical complexity. Successful performance on a task is called the behavioral stage. This model can be applied to non-human animals, and humans. Using data from some of the simplest animals and also somewhat more complex ones, this analysis describes the four lowest behavioral stages and illustrate them using the behaviors of a range of simple organisms. For example, Stage 1 tasks, and performance on them, are addressed with automatic unconditioned responses. Behavior at this Stage includes sensing, tropisms, habituation and, other automatic behaviors. Single cell organisms operate at this Stage. Stage 2 tasks include these earlier behaviors, but also include respondent conditioning but not operant conditioning. Animals such as some simple invertebrates have shown respondent conditioning, but not operant conditioning. Stage 3 tasks coordinate three instances of these earlier tasks to make possible operant conditioning. These stage 3 performances are similar to those of some invertebrates and also insects. Stage 4 tasks organisms coordinate 2 or more circular sensory-motor task actions into a superordinate “concept”. This explanation of the early stages of the Model of Hierarchical Complexity may help future research in animal behavior, and comparative psychology.

The Behavioral Ecology of Sex Tourism: The Consequences of Skewed Sex Ratios

2020 ◽  
pp. 004728752094610
Author(s):  
Florian Kock
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sex Tourism ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Biological Perspective ◽  
Attitudes Toward Sex

The operational sex ratio (i.e., the ratio of reproductive-age females to males in a population) shapes both animal and human behavior in important ways. Drawing on research in evolution and ecology, the author proposes that a local male-skewed sex ratio (i.e., a surplus of males) influences local men’s attitudes toward sex tourism. Analyzing historical field (study 1) and experimental data (study 2), the author demonstrates that male-skewed sex ratios increase men’s sex tourism rationalization and intent, while women’s predispositions are not sensitive to sex ratios. Sex tourism is explained as a subconscious ecological plasticity in response to perceived increased intensities of same-sex competition for mates, signaled by male-skewed sex ratios. The findings demonstrate a link between mating ecologies and sex tourism, with the latter serving as a compensatory behavior of same-sex mating competition. This research contributes a novel, biological perspective on sex tourism with implications for future research and practice.

A Behavioral Perspective

1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 26-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Rice
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
Psychosocial Adjustment ◽  
Rehabilitation Counseling ◽  
Behavioral Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Rehabilitation Process ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Adjustment Issues

The behavioral approach to rehabilitation counseling represents one of the most unique and comprehensive set of strategies in the field. These procedures are applicable in all aspects of rehabilitation counseling, involving vocational issues, attainment of functional skills, and psychosocial adjustment issues. In this paper, the definitions of behavior therapy, applied behavior analysis, behaviorism, and behavior modification are presented and examined. A behavior analysis of the rehabilitation process is discussed and the similarities and differences between this approach and others are briefly reviewed. Examples of behavioral strategies in rehabilitation counseling are presented, and suggestions for future research are made. In summary, behavioral approaches to rehabilitation counseling involve assisting the disabled individual to acquire and maintain those functional behaviors that maximize his independence, and facilitates the individual's complete reintegration into his work, home, and social environment.

scholarly journals Developing individual differences in primate behavior: The role of genes, environment and their interplay

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Julian von Borell ◽  
Alexander Weiss ◽  
Lars Penke
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Behavior Genetics ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Stability And Change ◽  
Behavioral Stability

As is the case for humans, it has long been thought that nonhuman primates can be described in terms of their personality. Scientific observations that support this view include the presence of individual differences in social behavior and that they are relatively stable throughout life. Consequently, individuals are constrained in their behavioral flexibility when dealing with various environmental challenges. Still, the variation among individuals during development suggests that the environment influences how primates behave. Research in fields including psychology, behavior genetics, and behavioral ecology have tried to identify the mechanisms responsible for this interplay of behavioral stability and change. In this review we integrate theories and findings from research on humans and nonhuman primates that highlight how and to what extent genetic and environmental contributions shape the development of social behavior. To do so we first provide an overview and define what is meant by mean level and rank-order change of behavior. We then review explanations of behavioral stability and change, focusing on the role of genetic effects, how environmental circumstances influence behavioral variation throughout development, and how genetic and environmental influences may interact to produce this variation. Finally, we point to future research directions that could help us to further understand the development of social behavior in primates from within a behavior genetics framework.

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