Essays on Extinction

Definition of the concept

Differential reinforcement, also known discrimination training, is the ability to expose a particular behavior in response to a specific stimulus situation and extinguish the very behavior in a different stimulus situation. The cue that generates the reinforcement is known as the differential stimulus or the discriminative stimulus; SD. A different cue would create extinction by not inducing the same behavior. The stimulus that does not result into reinforcement is denoted as s-delta. In essence, discriminative reinforcement is the training of the mind to distinguish and respond differently to various stimuli.

Example of the concept

Ken is a 4-year old boy. At night whenever

Continue reading...

- Define the concept: 97 words
The concept of extinction basically means the withholding of rein forcers in a systemic way that has in the past have helped in maintaining behaviour. It is a general misconception that extinction is similar to ignoring and elimination whereas in reality this is not the truth. If the frequency of reinforcement for behaviour is high, then it is more likely that the behaviour of that specific person will extinguish at a much faster pace. In such cases, as the deprivation level for the reinforcement is poor or nil altogether, extinction of behaviour occurs

Continue reading...

When used in behavioral psychology, the term reinforcement means a consequence which strengthens an organism’s behavior in future whenever the specific behavior is preceded by an antecedent stimulus. This can be observed as an increase in the frequency of the behavior or also as an increase in the duration in which the behavior is exhibited by the organism. Punishment on the other hand is used in psychology to mean the imposition, authoritatively, of something that is unpleasant or undesirable upon an individual or even upon a group of people as a protest against the behavior that has been

Continue reading...

Science has advanced so much that scientists are now bring extinct animals back to life- they call it de-extinction . De-extinction is done by two methods- cloning and selective breeding. Cloning is a process in which the DNA of an organism that is desired to be cloned is taken out and infused in the cell of another existing organism belonging to the same class. When fertilization takes place in the existing organism, it is able to produce an off-spring that looks exactly like the organism which was desired to be cloned. Selective breeding is the method in which DNA from

Continue reading...

Sharks are a type of fish that are known to live in salty water, except for the bull and the rivers sharks which can live in both salty and fresh waters. They are large animals at the top of the food chain, which means that they have limited predators feeding on them. They come in various species and are a sister group to the rays. Although sharks are not very harmless to human beings (research shows that only 12 people are killed by sharks every year, while human beings kill a worrying 100 million sharks annually), the marine animals

Continue reading...

Neanderthals are the members of the genus Homo and are known extinct relatives of Homo sapiens. A large amount of fossils and other archives have been collected that has substantiated the presence of these mysterious beings. The first skeletal fossils of Neanderthals were discovered in Germany in 1856, in the Neander Valley, where a group of quarrymen found 16 bone pieces including a skull, which they thought to be a bear. The bones were analyzed to determine that the fossils belonged to ancient relatives of humans. It has been close to 150 years since the accidental discovery of Neanderthals,

Continue reading...

Environmental Studies

The need for a precise forecasting of the impacts of climate change on the future distribution of the Earth's principle biome is increasing. In this paper, forecasting methods covered include: the niche-theory models which categorize species by habitat (particularly environmental conditions where species may persist or perish). The general circulation models and the species-area curve models which consider large groups of species or all species.
The existing climate models based on approximations of increasing carbon dioxide and, to some extent, by lessening sulfate aerosols, forecast that temperatures will rise by 2.5-10.4oF (1.4-5.8oC) between the year1990 and 2100. Greater warming

Continue reading...

Introduction

For more than 150 million years, dinosaurs roamed across the earth. However, most dinosaurs became extinct suddenly within a short time. The last of the dinosaurs are estimated to have died about 65 million years ago. The cause of their extinction continues to be a mystery, with a number of factors such as diseases, climate change, geologic events and changing plant communities being thought to have played a part in the demise of dinosaurs. Of late, theories of dinosaur extinction have been the subject of much controversy and debate. The explanation that seems to have the support of many

Continue reading...

Abstract

The K–Pg mass extinction took place at the end of Cretaceous Era and the onset of the Paleogene System. At the end of the Cretaceous, just before the K–Pg event, between 40% and 75% of marine life forms and terrestrial species disappear from fossilized records. Included in K-Pg mass extinction were well-known groups as flightless dinosaurs, related reptile species and many species of marine plankton.

Introduction

The K-Pg (Cretaceous–Paleogene) mass extinction, also termed as the K-T (Cretaceous–Tertiary) extinction, is documented as a mass extinction of nearly three-quarters of fauna and flora on Earth, which includes all

Continue reading...

Behavior is termed as the way and means of getting something or rather avoid something. It is important to note that the behavior is earned and is an action that is both observable and measurable. It is observable in the aspect of what is seen or heard. For instance, if a subject is speaking, yelling, writing or even dancing. The behavior is more about how a certain feeling is expressed for instance by making faces, yelling, or even portraying various body postures. Behaviors can also be measured in that it can be defined and described. For instance, in this

Continue reading...

Science is a body of knowledge produced by scientists with emphasis on observation, explanation and prediction of real world occurrences. Since the classical antiquity, empirical investigations of the natural world were used to advance, develop and prove ideas by the likes of Aristotle. Scientific methods were employed during the middle ages by scientists such as Roger Bacon and Ibn al-Haytham to originate and determine scientific ideas. Modern science can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries resulting from the scientific revolution, has established science as a source for the growth of knowledge. This knowledge is developed from

Continue reading...

Extinction of species is a natural process that has occurred since the beginning of life on earth. Organisms most suited to the current environmental conditions survive and reproduce whereas those less poorly suited either do not survive or contribute little or nothing to the genetic capital of the next generation. This process is known as natural selection or survival of the fittest. Anthropogenic influences on this process, especially in the last century has effected this process through habitat or ecosystem conversion and the input of pollution in the air, water and soil (text book, year).
For example, the input

Continue reading...

Biodiversity is the range variation among microorganisms, animals and plants. Biodiversity enhances the quality way of living that is not easy to quantify. The human beings depend on the biodiversity for food; forestry and agriculture, shelter and warmth; use of forest products and fibers, medicines; synthesized and tradition medicines. Besides of biological resources biodiversity also supplies indirect services to human beings such as clean air, water, and fertile soil.
The ecological and its normal function is disrupted and distraught when the ecosystem losses its population, or group of species. The distribution and functioning of ecosystem is highly affected by

Continue reading...

Introduction

Conditioning can be defined as the arrangement of two or more incidences characterized experimentally via separate chronological relationship. Learning takes place at the behavioral, cognitive and neural levels with four crucial phenomena that are caused by conditioning (Kalat, 2011). This paper seeks to explain the meaning of these phenomena and show how they would exhibit themselves in human beings.
The four basic learning phenomena that take place due to conditioning are acquisition, extinction, generalization, and discrimination (Kalat, 2011). Acquisition refers to the advancement of a conditioned reply consequent to conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) experiments (Kalat, 2011).

Continue reading...