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Pavlovian feed-forward mechanisms in the control of social behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2000

Michael Domjan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 domjan@psy.utexas.edu www.psy.utexas.edu/psy/faculty/Domjan/Domjan.html
Brian Cusato
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 cusato@mail.utexas.edu
Ronald Villarreal
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 rvillarr@indiana.edu

Abstract

The conceptual and investigative tools for the analysis of social behavior can be expanded by integrating biological theory, control systems theory, and Pavlovian conditioning. Biological theory has focused on the costs and benefits of social behavior from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. In contrast, control systems theory is concerned with how machines achieve a particular goal or purpose. The accurate operation of a system often requires feed-forward mechanisms that adjust system performance in anticipation of future inputs. Pavlovian conditioning is ideally suited to subserve this function in behavioral systems. Pavlovian mechanisms have been demonstrated in various aspects of sexual behavior, maternal lactation, and infant suckling. Pavlovian conditioning of agonistic behavior has been also reported, and Pavlovian processes may likewise be involved in social play and social grooming. Several further lines of evidence indicate that Pavlovian conditioning can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of social interactions, thereby improving their cost/benefit ratio. We extend Pavlovian concepts beyond the traditional domain of discrete secretory and other physiological reflexes to complex real-world behavioral interactions and apply abstract laboratory analyses of the mechanisms of associative learning to the daily challenges animals face as they interact with one another in their natural environments.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2000 Cambridge University Press

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