I have always thought it a minor miracle that Seligman was able to demonstrate learned helplessness in dogs. I think just about any other species would be able to have learned it quicker. It's not that they can't learn to perform tricks for rewards; it's that they seem unable to extinguish a behavior just on the basis of a lack of reward (or possibly even in response to an aversive stimulus).
Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/hss/faculty/rfroman.asp "Pete, it's a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart." - Ulysses Everett McGill -----Original Message----- From: Miguel Roig [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7:48 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Dogs, Porcupines, and Learning theories You mean like the dogs depicted in these pictures? CAUTION: VIEW AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION http://cellar.org/iotd.php?threadid=8836 Miguel -----Original Message----- From: Jean-Marc Perreault [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 6:20 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Dogs, Porcupines, and Learning theories An interesting question arose a while back... Why do dogs, after biting into a porcupine (which is a very unpleasant event, with sometimes harsh consequences, <<such as having needles that are shaped as fish hooks pulled out of the mouth with pliers>> keep going after other porcupines later on? --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang= english --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
