Innate and Learned Behaviors - Essay Example

For example, it is impossible to breathe underwater without any oxygen. Thus, the capacity of a person to breathe is a proof of being alive. Blinking and Pupillary Reflex Other innate human behaviors are reflex behaviors, which refer to the “automatic, involuntary, and innate responses to a certain stimulation” (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007, p. 137). Blinking is a reflex that involves opening and closing of eyes while pupillary reflex involves dilating and constricting of the eyes as a reaction to the light (“Blink,” n.d.; “Pupillary reflex,” n.d.).

For example, whenever there is dirt in the eyes, one would immediately blink the eyes in order to get that dirt off. Another example, when a person go to a dark room, the pupil of the eyes will dilate, and if the person go to a lighted room the pupil of the eyes will constrict without any effort. However, there are some reflexes that no longer exist across the stages of human development because of neurological and physiological development. Thus, it is possible for an individual to learn different behaviors based from his/her surrounding environment (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007; Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005). B. .

Classical Conditioning Humans learn to link certain reactions in response to a stimulus that were not commonly associated at first with each other. For example, when I was studying for a certain exam, I drank two cups of coffee and made nauseous. From that time on, smelling the aroma coffee or a sip of coffee will make me sick. Thus, it is evident that an individual learns an association between certain stimulus and its corresponding reactions (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007; Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005).

Operant Conditioning Humans learn to understand the effects of a functioning organism in the society through the process of reinforcement and punishment. For example, my parents would buy nice toys every time I have high grades in school, and would scold me every time I have low grades. Thus, giving reinforcement will intensify and stimulate the recurrence of certain behaviors while punishment is the manner of attenuating or reducing the recurrence of disliked behaviors (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007; Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005).

Schematic Learning Schematic learning refers to an individual’s capacity to associate an environmental stimulus with a certain respond and will later serve as a guide. For example, I was observing my baby cousin in his crib, and he was playing with his rattle. All of a sudden his rattle fell out of the crib and had difficulty of retrieving it. He made different ways in order to retrieve his rattle, but it took him minutes later to retrieve his rattle outside the crib. From that on, every time his rattle fell out of the crib, he had no more difficulty of retrieving it because he already has a way of getting it back.

Thus, this proves that when an individual learns something based on a certain situation, it is more likely that a