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7 - Pavlovian Conditioning, Survival, and Reproductive Success

from Part I - Evolution of Learning Processes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

By
Mark A. Krause  and
Michael Domjan
Edited by
Mark A. Krause ,
Karen L. Hollis  and
Mauricio R. Papini
Mark A. Krause
Affiliation:
Southern Oregon University
Karen L. Hollis
Affiliation:
Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts
Mauricio R. Papini
Affiliation:
Texas Christian University
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Summary

Learning enables organisms to make adaptive modifications to ecological circumstances. Pavlovian conditioning is a specific form of learning that involves learning about predictive relations between events in the environment and enables animals to form associations that facilitate adaptive modifications in behavior in both appetitive and aversive contexts. Pavlovian conditioned stimuli are functionally important because they prepare organisms to interact with biologically relevant stimuli, such as potential mates, and facilitate how those interactions occur. Research with various species indicates that Pavlovian conditioning influences physiological responses that affect reproductive success. In this chapter, we review how Pavlovian conditioning results in enhanced reproductive physiological responses, increased success in fertilization, and increased numbers of offspring produced. Research has shown that animals that had a chance to learn about mating opportunities have a distinct reproductive advantage over those that did not and therefore are more likely to contribute their genes to future generations. This research informs our understanding of how Pavlovian learning is not just a proximate mechanism of behavior, but also has a role in genetic transmission and thereby contributes to the future course of evolution.

Keywords

Pavlovian conditioningfertilityevolutionlearning and memory
Type
Chapter
Information
Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms , pp. 125 - 142
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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