Animal Behavior Flashcards
1
Q
Ethology
A
The study of animal behaviors, which are inherited (innate, should increase an animals fitness) or learned
2
Q
Behavioral ecology
A
The study of how innate behaviors increase fitness
3
Q
What are the 4 innate behaviors?
A
Instinct
Reflexes
Fixed action patterns
Imprinting
4
Q
Instincts
A
- Innate behaviors that occur without thought (i.e. it has never been taught)
- Example: birds undergoing migration in response to seasonal change or an infant suckling or a parent carring for offspring
5
Q
Reflexes
A
- rapid, involuntary responses to a stimulus
- involve a neural circuit
- 2 types: simple reflex arc and complex reflex arc
6
Q
Simple reflex arc
A
- Most rapid reflexes
- Peripheral nerves synapse within the spinal cord
- An afferent sensory neuron travels from the stimulus to the central nervous system and synapse on efferent motor neurons which travels from the central nervous system to muscles
- response to stimulus is controlled at the spinal cord
7
Q
Complex reflex arcs
A
- Slower reflex
- Peripheral nerves do not synapse with each other in the CNS
- Separated by an intermediary, the interneuron
- controlled by brainstem (or cerebrum)
- ex: startle response, which is controlled by the reticular activating system
8
Q
Fixed action patterns
A
- Innate behaviors
- initiated by specific stimulus called sign stimulus (releases if same species)
- Once initiated, behavior will continue to completion even if the stimulus is removed during the behavior
- follow a regular, unvarying pattern
9
Q
What are benefits of fixed action patterns?
A
Generates predictable and appropriate response
Response tends to increase an animals fitness
Do not need to be learned by new generation
10
Q
Imprinting
A
- An innate way animals learn certain behaviors that will never be forgotten once behavior is acquired
- Only occurs during critical period or critical imprinting stage
- can influence sexual selection
11
Q
habituation
A
- learned behavior
- allows individuals to ignore repetitive events that they know are inconsequential
- they remained focused on other things
12
Q
sensitization
A
- opposite of habituation
- increase in reponse to a repeated stimulus
13
Q
insight
A
- when an animal is exposed to a new situation that they have never seen before, but they perform a behavior that generates a positive outcome
- mechanism to learn new behaviors in reponse to unexpected events without receiving reinforcement
- reduces the time for new behaviors to be acquired
14
Q
stimulus generalization
A
- organisms respond to stimuli similar to the original stimuli but not identical to it
15
Q
stimulus discrimination
A
- the ability of an organism learning to differentially respond to slightly different stimuli
