tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9192597712746432631.post4929143384571347756..comments2024-03-09T09:06:35.288+00:00Comments on Notes from Two Scientific Psychologists: The Bliss of Motor AbundanceAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16732977871048876430noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9192597712746432631.post-91769603135875631262016-09-12T14:28:52.864+01:002016-09-12T14:28:52.864+01:00Thanks for posting this exquisite example of anima...Thanks for posting this exquisite example of animal behavior. From a behavioral perspective it seems no question that learning is involved here. The video obviously does not provide enough of a history and therefore all talk of how learning occurred is merely speculation. However, it is impossible to not to note that this is occurring at the same time as an attendant is entering the cage (presumably to feed the cat based on her behavior). This would obviously lend it self to an operant history of reinforcement. However, what would have established this triple jump in the behavioral repertoire of the animal? It seems unlikely that the animal would emit this behavior spontaneously without some prior action-perception experience. Perhaps being enclosed in a small cage the only vigorous activity that can be obtained is by jumping off walls or if there are other cats in the cage they escape each other by jumping off walls during chase and play. It is my estimation that the cat could have easily negotiated a decent of its first option (based on my own personal jaguar's tree descending ability--my 23 lb black cat). <br /><br />I am not well versed in ecological psychology so I am not sure how an animal learns of affordances in its environment. I would assume that their are unconditioned and conditioned affordances, am I misguided here? IF so how are these different than the more general term "antecedent stimuli" in behaviorism. If they are similar would not the behavior be the act of relating the antecedent stimuli (affordance) to the consequence? <br /><br />Latash also has a nice chapter in his book Synergy about perception and action and suggests that perceptual systems suffer the same degree of freedom problem as motor behavior.<br /><br />Thanks, Eric Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07164970323504687759noreply@blogger.com