Behaviors
An observable reaction to a stimulus by an organism.
Nature v Nurture
Nature is the idea that behaviors are genetic and predetermined.
- Include life functions.
- Innate.
Nurture is the idea that behaviors are environmental and come from experiences.
- Actions that need to be practiced.
- Learned.
Innate
Behaviors that are instinctive and do not need to be practiced.
- A newborn organism is born knowing how to cry and suckle.
A Fixed Action Plan is an unchangeable action that must be carried out to its finish and is triggered by a sign stimulus.
- Yawning.
- Greylag Goose rolls any circular object into the nest because of programmed response to protect eggs that roll away from the nest.
Learning/Learned
A change in behavior due to experiences.
Also known as maturation: improvement in behavior due to development of neuromuscular system.
- Birds improvement in flight as it grows.
- Increase in batting speed in baseball.
Foraging
To search widely or obtain food or provisions from a place.
- Deer learning that more food is found near water.
Habituation
The loss of response to a stimuli when it is shown to be unimportant.
- Prairie dogs will "scream" when humans are first introduced. But after enough exposure they will stop.
Imprinting
Young animals recognize and attach to an object immediately or soon after birth.
- Known as a sensitive period- time phase during development when particular behaviors occur.
- Ducklings will begin to follow their mothers very quickly following the time when they hatch.
Classical v Operant Conditioning
Classical Conditioning is associating 2 unrelated stimuli to yield a specific response.
- Pavlov's dogs were given food at the same time a bell was rung. The dogs began to salivate because of the food. Pavlov took away the food and the dogs still salivated at the sound of the bell.
Operant Conditioning is the association of a behavior with a reward or punishment. Commonly trial and error learning.
- A dog or child learning to stay away from ant hills after being bitten.
Play
Practice of certain behaviors
- Young animals pouncing or nipping at other animals in order to practice hunting.
Kinesis
Movement caused by a stimulus
- Cockroach moving because of light, but not necessarily toward or away from the light.
Taxis
Movement toward or away from a stimulus.
- Plants growing toward the light
Migration
Seasonal movement of animals over long distances
- Whales migrate to warm waters to give birth and cool waters to feed.
Ritual
Activities that take place involving a group of animals for a specific purpose.
- Death rituals that elephants partake in when a member dies. One member may stay with them until after death, then other families that pass the body will stop and observe or touch with a trunk or leg.
Signal
An action that provokes a response and causes communication between organisms.
- Chemical Signals such as pheromones emitted by Ants to tell other ants that food is being brought back to the nest.
- Visual Signals such as a wolf bearing its teeth to ward off a fight.
- Auditory Signals such as bird calls or mating calls.