Learning is a psychological process which results in a long-term change of behavior as species interact with the environment. Adaptation refers to the changes which are learnt by individuals to adjust and adapt to their own position within their species' niche. Learning can be described as an adaptive specialization; forms of learning have evolved through the process of natural selection.
Learning is a psychological process which results in a long-term change of behavior as species interact with the environment. Adaptation refers to the changes which are learnt by individuals to adjust and adapt to their own position within their species' niche. Learning can be described as an adaptive specialization; forms of learning have evolved through the process of natural selection.
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Learning is a psychological process which results in a long-term change of behavior as species interact with the environment. Adaptation refers to the changes which are learnt by individuals to adjust and adapt to their own position within their species' niche. Learning can be described as an adaptive specialization; forms of learning have evolved through the process of natural selection.
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What role does the concept of adaptation play in learning?
Learning is a psychological process which results in a long-term change of behavior as
species interact with the environment. Changes in behavior occur as species acquire knowledge based on their experience as well as the knowledge to deal with that particular experience. Learning can be described as an adaptive specialization; forms of learning have evolved through the process of natural selection to provide species with solutions to adjust to external circumstances. Through their direct experience, species learn and acquire knowledge which enables them to survive. By learning to obtain food, dealing effectively with danger as well as increasing chances of escape and reproducing to prevent extinction, species deal effectively with problems of survival (Frieman, 2002). Adaptation refers to the changes which are learnt by individuals to adjust and adapt to their own position within their species’ niche. To reach their goals, different species use different navigational cues which depend on their specific ecological requirements. For instance, forest dwelling ants use a land mark strategy i.e. they learn and recall visual markers such as the forest canopy and its relationship to objects, turning points and other visual details while foraging for food. This land mark strategy employed by ants is adaptive as these ants stay closer to home. On the other hand, desert dwelling ants use an orientation strategy i.e they maintain their position by deriving compass information from the sun to navigate their way. As these ants travel a long distance, it is adaptive for them to employ this navigational strategy. Similarly, Janson contends that animals adopt different foraging strategies based on the nature of their environment. In laboratory experiments of brown Capuchin monkeys, the monkeys adapt to the confined environment where food is available for only a limited period of time by eating at all sites. However, unrestrained Capuchins in their natural habitat adapt differently as they do not consume what cannot be digested during the course of the day as it is of no advantage to increase food intake beyond that which can be digested within a limited period of time (Choi and Silverman, as cited in Buss, 2005). Although Phase-Specific learning occurs during specific times in an individual’s life, it plays a significant role in the adaptive process as the behaviors which are learnt are not just exclusive to that particular moment of the individual’s life. Phase-specific learning results in the accomplishment of song learning, language learning, observational learning and instructed learning. These processes comprise the modes of communication and provide an exchange for the transfer of information between social groups. Imprinting is another example of phase- specific learning, through which individuals form long-term exposures with the things, events, or activities which they encounter at specific phases of their life. For instance, young salmon identify and clearly remember the stream in which they were hatched. This serves an adaptive purpose, as they return to the same stream to carry out their reproductive function (Frieman, 2002). Conditioned responses enable individuals to optimize interactions with forthcoming biological important events such as food, predators, mates, rivals etc. Through the process of Pavlovian conditioning, individuals can identify the event, the conditioned stimulus, which signals a motivationally significant event and enables the individual to behave accordingly. This function is described as ‘prefiguring’ by Holis who regards conditioned responses not only as preparatory which allows individuals to deal effectively with significant events but also as anticipatory i.e. it enables animals to respond to those stimuli which signal the approach of harmful or beneficial stimuli. At times the conditioned stimulus acts as an occasion setter, a certain CS-US relationship is signaled, it is up to the individual to learn to recognize such signals and infer whether positive or a negative contingency is indicated by the environmental context and adapt accordingly. It is advantageous to make a causal inference of the conditioned response; conditioned stimuli which signal the onset of food may result in anticipatory salivation as well as anticipatory gastrointestinal responses such as increases in digestive juices and increases in stomach and intestinal motility. These anticipatory responses increase the efficiency of the digestive process (Frieman, 2002). Individuals may experience and learn changes in preference, evaluations and palatability as a consequence of evaluative conditioning which occurs between two events which are in close temporal proximity. Consequently, the affective value of the event (CS) is affected by an individual’s evaluation to another event (US). This is proven by an experiment conducted by Garcia et al; wolves fed with mutton laced with lithium chloride, developed an aversion for mutton. After one exposure of this, they continued to attack sheep, but released them after one bite. Hence, it is evident that food aversions which are learnt when consumption of food is followed by gastrointestinal illness, act as adaptive specializations as they enable species to identify and avoid poisonous foods. They are effective as after only one trial, individuals learn the association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus and learn to avoid those stimuli that are detrimental to their health (Frieman, 2002). Through the process of natural selection, species possess innate knowledge and may be predisposed to certain behaviors. This can be explained by the evolutionary transfer of information of the adaptive behavior undertaken by their ancestors’ for the purpose of survival in their niche. For instance, as infants, humans prefer sweet substances as opposed to bitter tasting food which can be explained by the fact that foods containing natural sugars were an integral part of the prehistoric diet of our ancestors (Choi and Silverman, as cited in Buss, 2005). Similarly, fear is a conditioned emotional reaction which is automatically activated when individuals encounter evolutionary prepared danger stimuli such as snakes, spiders and falling objects. Hence, fear responses, such as the act of drawing back automatically from a snake, reflexively occur without conscious awareness of the subject. This phenomenon is explained by Ohman and Mineka; to prevent the individual from danger, motor reflexes were directly connected to threat detectors in evolutionary ancient fear systems. This idea can also be explained by predator-prey encounters; as hunting played a significant role in human subsistence in prehistoric times, human evolution has endowed individuals with the adaptive machinery used by their ancestors to combat dangerous situations of predator-prey encounters and to achieve their goals i.e. capturing prey for food acquisition for consumption purposes and evading predators for survival. This idea can be linked to the patterns which constitute defensive behavior mechanisms amongst different species (Barrett, as cited in Buss, 2005). Upon encountering a predator, an individual will engage in certain behaviors; Pavlovian conditioning enables individuals to recognize stimuli which indicate danger and to undertake strategies for escape. The advantage of responding to conditioned responses for defense purposes is that individuals learn to respond to a predator using a shorter reaction time. This defense mechanism is described by Faneslow and Lester as ‘predatory imminence continuum’. Individuals may undertake both Pre-encounter defensive behaviors as well as Post-encounter defensive behaviors. For instance Vervet monkeys have separate alarm calls for, and react differently to snakes, leopards and raptors, because different escape strategies and adaptation methods are appropriate for each (Barrett, as cited in Buss, 2005). Other Pre-encounter defensive behaviors which minimize the risk and reduce opportunities of being preyed upon include organization of the activity of foraging for food as well as cautious movements. Perchance, a predator or danger is detected, then the individual may undertake inherited defensive behavior patterns known as species-specific defense reactions such as flight and freezing. Species-specific defense reactions are an effective method of survival with different species employing different methods based on different situations. For instance rats engage in flash behavior; if the predator is not close the rat may run a short distance and freeze which may deceive the predator into believing that the prey has vanished. On other occasions, when in circa-strike mode, rats may engage in threat displays and may turn and fight. Hence based on their situations, animals adapt accordingly and learn to distinguish between different behaviors and can evaluate which behavior will maximize chances of survival (Frieman, 2002). In some instances, recognition of predators which may prove to be dangerous is not innate in certain species. As this may be problematic and reduce the chances of survival for these species, individuals obtain knowledge about events by a process of social learning i.e. interaction with other members of the same species. Hence, via learning through a process of cultural transmission of knowledge, knowledge and skills are passed from one generation to another. This provides an adaptive advantage to individuals as it enables them to profit from the experiences of others and reduces time for learning to occur. Through the process of observational conditioning, a form of Pavlovian conditioning, individuals learn to fear threatening stimuli from one another as a result of which they develop adaptive mechanisms for survival purposes. For instance, Mineka et al. discovered that captured rhesus monkeys exhibited fear to snakes as opposed to their laboratory- reared offspring who were fearless in the presence of snakes. However, after subjecting the juvenile monkeys to observational learning of their parents’ behavior, five of the six monkeys exhibited fearful behaviors to the snakes. Similarly, blackbirds transmit a mobbing cry which is taken up by their entire population via observational learning, to transmit information about the presence of predators in their niche and to drive them away (Frieman, 2002). Likewise, the process of social learning can be used by many species, including rats, birds and humans, to evaluate food preferences by distinguishing between beneficial foods which contain a high nutritional value and those which are deleterious to their health. Galef et al. conducted experiments on Norway rats to examine social transmission of food preferences. They discovered that an inadvertent communication exists between specie members; specie members can develop a preference for a particular food by smelling its odor on the breath and snouts of members who have consumed the food. Similarly, upon observation of specie members, rats develop aversions to foods which have made their specie members fall sick. An identical phenomenon occurs in the case of red-winged blackbirds. Such forms of social learning are critical to the adaptive process; they are highly effective as species do not have to face adverse consequences after dealing with aversive stimuli directly but can adapt accordingly (Frieman, 2002). The analogy of Natural Selection to Operant Conditioning is an apt one; through innate mechanisms species are able to identify certain things important for survival purposes. Through operant conditioning, individuals learn and perform only those behaviors which are positively reinforced. Species strive to survive and adopt those behaviors which enable them to gain finite resources such as food, water and potential mates etc which act as positive reinforcers. Rivals, dangerous situations, predators etc are negative reinforcers which reduce chances of survival. It must be noted that as no experience is required to identify these things as beneficial or detrimental to their survival, these things function as Primary reinforcers. These primary reinforcers can be classically conditioned by experience to work as Secondary Reinforcers. The idea behind this is that individuals learn to recognize aversive discriminative stimuli, which function as occasion setters and take practical measures i.e. adapt accordingly to avoid them via the process of avoidance conditioning. Those behaviors which are positively reinforced are learnt and as they are repeated, they increase the individual’s chance of survival, and can be categorized as successful behavior. Those behaviors which are not repeated often in the future as they are negatively reinforced are seen to be unsuccessful. This is highly significant as by this process, only useful behaviors, which enable species to adapt to their environment, are learnt as unsuccessful behaviors are not selected (Frieman, 2002). Operant learning is highly effective, as individuals are instilled by drives and are motivated to obtain specific incentives. For instance, incentives such as food containing a higher nutritional value can increase the probability of adaptive behaviors to occur. Crespi’s experiment of increasing the number of food pellets given to rats from one to sixteen demonstrated that rats ran at a faster rate to obtain the increase in the food. This indicates that increasing the incentive value of reinforcers, results in a greater degree of adaptation to obtain the reward. As the Operant learning mechanism uses a procedure known as differential reinforcement in which only selective behaviors which satisfy certain criteria are reinforced, it is highly adaptive. This is because the individual does not waste time in learning behaviors which are prone to be useless with regard to the target behavior. Hence, efficiency is maintained as an individual becomes highly skilled in performing the desired goal without the wastage of time, resources and skills (Frieman, 2002). The analogy of Hill-climbing evocatively displays how individuals learn to perform a complex task using a large number of successive trials. Hill-climbing is seen to provide effectual adaptive mechanisms which minimize problems of survival which are encountered by most species. As an individual crosses each successive stage, their previous performance provides them with information which is built upon by learnt behavior. As successful target behavior is achieved through many repeated processes, hill-climbing results in improvements in behavioral performance to a large extent. As positive reinforcers provide individuals with a high incentive value to achieve their intended goals as various stages or thresholds are crossed i.e. via a process of shaping, this process results in an improvement in the performance of the behavior as well as decreases the frequency or variability of other behaviors. Hence, the process of hill-climbing is highly successful as it enables individuals to achieve their goal i.e. performance is improved as the desired behavior is reached gradually (Frieman, 2002). Melioration is an adaptive process which aims to explain the process of Matching by the phenomenon of Molecular feedback in the Operant Conditioning mechanism. The Matching Law explains how individuals select appropriate behavior patterns by evaluating both the favorable and adverse results of previous choices i.e. time and efforts are matched with the beneficial rewards provided by reinforcers. This can be linked to the idea of successful-behaviors and is therefore adaptive. The matching law can be derived by examining how individuals select a particular choice of doing work by looking at concurrent schedules of reinforcement i.e. more than two different schedules of partial reinforcement. Instead of using molar feedback to produce matching, molecular feedback is used as it is by far a more efficient process. Molecular feedback involves a moment-to-moment relationship between behaviors and consequences i.e. it constantly evaluates and measures the current cost incurred by an individual during reinforcement as opposed to molar feedback which is more long-term oriented. In molar feedback, individuals choose those behaviors which maximize the greatest outcome of the choice. Melioration is more sensitive to molecular feedback than molar feedback because immediate consequences of a particular choice govern behavior as opposed to long term choices. The underlying idea is that only the consequences of a particular behavior do not govern learning in Operant conditioning. Instead, the process is a highly evaluative and efficient one in which all possible outcomes of behavior are evaluated, and that behavior which affects survival to the greatest extent is learnt (Frieman, 2002). The example of sign-tracking, a form of autoshaping, in species is critical to understand the link between Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning. The term sign-tracking is used to describe how behavior is affected by stimuli which act as signals. These signals may indicate the presence or absence of events, and the process aims to examine the behavior which is learnt consequently. An experiment was conducted by Brown and Jenkins to examine learnt behavior of pigeons. The conditioned stimulus, a lighted key, was followed by the delivery of food. The results of the experiment indicated that the pigeons would peck the lighted key which signaled the onset of food. As pecking behavior was followed by food, behavior was rewarded i.e. food was seen to be a positive reinforcer, as a result of which the behavior was learnt. Although, Williams and Williams provided evidence of learning by sign-tracking a form of classical conditioning by omission training, in which 12 out of 13 subjects continued to peck at keys which resulted in loss of food. However, another experiment indicated that Omission training cannot disprove the idea of learning by Operant Conditioning. This is because when two keys were presented to pigeons, with only one being followed by food after which the procedures were reversed i.e. the alternate key was rewarded, the birds stopped pecking the key which had previously been rewarded and began to peck the new key. what these experiments suggest is that through classical conditioning individuals learn about signals which indicate important event, whereas operant conditioning results in the learning and repetition of the rewarded behavior. Hence, Sign-tracking is a highly adaptive process as learning occurs by both the processes of Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning in which the pigeons learn to identify appropriate signals and behave accordingly (Frieman, 2002). The example of sign-tracking is of much significance; it implies that the learning mechanisms provided by Operant conditioning are more specialized and contribute to greater adaptation of the species as opposed to adaptations learnt by the Classical Conditioning mechanism. The reason being, that Operant conditioning operates on a level higher than that of Classical conditioning; classical conditioning mechanisms enable individuals to recognize stimuli and make appropriate causal inferences whereas Operant conditioning mechanisms enable individuals to practically adopt the learnt information via an efficient feedback mechanism. Learnt information about a particular action is evaluated and previous behaviors are modified to integrate the new effective behavior (Frieman, 2002). However, all three forms of learning i.e. learning through Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning and Social Learning play an integral role in the performance of species and enable them to accomplish certain tasks which would not be possible otherwise. Although all species possess innate mechanisms, these are highly limited and simple in their functions and occur mostly in simple organisms. Complex species require specialized solutions to resolve specific problems which are encountered in their ecological niche. As Darwin’s theory of ‘evolution by natural selection’ focuses on the idea of survival of the fittest, only those species will survive and will be able to face environmental stresses and selection pressures which possess characteristics which enhance survival. Therefore, species must learn to adapt to their environment or face extinction. Hence, learning can be described as an adaptive specialization which enables species to cope with problems of survival by providing flexible and appropriate solutions (Frieman, 2002). Bibliography
Barrett, H, C. (2005). Adaptations to Predators and Prey. In Buss, D, M. “The Handbook of
Evolutionary Psychology” (pp.177-199). John Wiley & Sons
Choi, J and Silverman, I. (2005). Locating Places. In Buss, D, M. “The Handbook of
Evolutionary Psychology” (pp.177-199). John Wiley & Sons
Frieman, J. (2002) “Learning and Adaptive Behavior”. Wadsworth Group.