In Chapter 7, Learning and Conditioning, We Read About the Problems

Essay

In Chapter 7, Learning and Conditioning, we read about the problems Keller and Marian Breland encountered when they ignored biological constraints by trying to condition pigs to drop large wooden coins in a box. The Brelands realized that the pig's rooting instinct, using its snout to uncover and dig up edible roots, was keeping it from learning the task. People are also influenced by the evolutionary history of our human species. Integrate the information learned in Chapter 3, Genes, Evolution, and Environment, with information about operant and classical conditioning. In your essay, include a discussion of language.