Reflexive Behaviors

Definition

Reflexive behaviors are automatic, involuntary responses that occur as a result of an environmental stimulus. These behaviors are typically innate and do not require conscious thought or learning.

Related terms

Classical Conditioning:

Classical conditioning is a type of learning where an organism learns to associate two stimuli together, resulting in a new response. For example, Pavlov's dogs salivating at the sound of a bell because they associated it with food.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): The unconditioned stimulus is the environmental stimulus that naturally triggers a reflexive response without any prior learning. In the case of Pavlov's dogs, the UCS was the presentation of food.

Conditioned Response (CR):

The conditioned response is the learned response that occurs as a result of pairing an initially neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus) with an unconditioned stimulus. In Pavlov's experiment, the CR was the dogs salivating at the sound of a bell after it had been repeatedly paired with food.