Behavior Flashcards
Charles Darwin’s complete theory on evolution was published in _____, in a book entitled ______.
1859
On the Origin of Species
____ is the study of animal behavior.
Ethology
In On the Origin of Species, Darwin devoted an entire chapter to animal behavior, most of which he believed was generated by _______.
A combination of unlearned responses characteristic of a species, or instinct.
Define natural selection.
The process that awards survival and reproductive success to individuals and groups best adjusted to their environment.
Classical ethology asserts ____.
That much of what animals know is instinctive, or innate.
One example of classical ethology.
Birds don’t learn how to fly; a chick merely delays flight until it’s strong enough to support itself in the air.
Digger wasp
Define unconditioned response.
A simple reflex behavior.
Examples of an unconditioned response.
The hammer tapping on the patients knee causing a knee-jerk reflex.
Salivation at the sight of food.
Examples of an unconditioned response.
The hammer tapping on the patients knee causing a knee-jerk reflex.
Salivation at the sight of food.
Define unconditioned stimulus.
Something that produces an unconditioned response.
Define conditioned stimulus.
Something that produces a conditioned response.
Define stimulus-response.
Muscular and glandular responses that we can observe and measure.
Behaviorism originated with American psychologist _______, who proposed and approach to psychology based on objective laboratory procedures. His experiments led him to formulate a ________ theory of psychology.
John B. Watson
stimulus-response
Define behaviorism.
Behavior is learned rather than genetically programmed.
Behaviorism originated with American psychologist _______, who proposed and approach to psychology based on objective laboratory procedures. His experiments led him to formulate a ________ theory of psychology.
John B. Watson
stimulus-response
The foremost expert on the mechanism of operant conditioning was the American psychologist ______. A classic example of experiments he devised involved _______.
B. F. Skinner
Teaching a rat to press a bar for food.
Define classical conditioning.
Associating stimuli that happens at the same time or the same area.
Define operant conditioning.
Associating an activity with punishment or reward.
Define sociobiology.
The study of social organization in animals.
Sociobiologists theorize that _____.
Complex social patterns arise, develop, and sometimes even disappear based on their survival value.
Define fixed action patterns.
Stereotypical or predictable behaviors.
One example of a fixed action pattern.
Many adult birds automatically regurgitate predigested food when chicks peck at a certain spot on the underside of the parent’s beak.
Define instinct.
Natural and inherent ability of an animal to perform tasks like hunting, feeding, and mating.
One example of instincts.
Honeybees have an innate capability to navigate from food sources to its hive.
Define positive reinforcement.
Rewarding good behavior with an immediate pleasant occurrence (within 20 seconds of behavior).
Define negative reinforcement.
An upleasant occurrence used to create a desired behavior.
Define punishment.
An unpleasant occurrence used to eliminate an undesirable behavior.
Define positive punishment and provide an example.
Adding an undesirable occurrence to decreased a behavior.
A dog wearing a shock collar and each time it begs at the dinner table it gets a shock.
Define negative punishment and provide and example.
Removing a desirable occurrence to decrease a behavior.
A dog begging at the dinner table that is ignored by the owner but when the dog stops begging, a treat is placed in the dog’s food bowl as a reward.
For punishment to be effective it must:
1 Occur every time the behavior occurs
2 Be applied immediately
3 Be of appropriate intensity
4 Not be associated with the owner
Define imprinting.
A rapid learning process that enables the very young to recognize and bond with its caretaker.
Define sensitive period.
Period of time when imprinting occurs.
Among cats and dogs, the sensitive period typically extends from _____.
The second or third to the 12th week after birth.
True or false?
Classical ethologists proposed that most animal behavior was instinctive.
TRUE
The survival value of certain types of behavior is often referred to as it’s:
Function
Who is considered the foremost expert on the mechanism of operant conditioning?
B. F. Skinner
Please briefly describe Pavlov’s famous experiment in classical conditioning.
Pavlov discovered that dogs automatically begin to salivate at the site of food. If he always rang a bell when he offered food, the dogs began slowly to associate unrelated stimulus with food. In time, the sound of the bell alone would cause the dogs to salivate. Pavlov thereby concluded that the dogs had actually learned to associate an unrelated stimulus with food.
True or false?
Behaviorism emphasizes the importance of genetics in shaping behavior.
FALSE.
Behaviorism relays that behavior is learned rather than genetically programmed.
A critical socialization period exists from ______ of age in puppies and from ______ of age in kittens.
4 to 14 weeks - puppies
2 to 8 weeks - kittens
A puppy experiences its first fear period at ______ and its second fear period as they near ____.
8-10 weeks of age
Puberty
The best techniques for housebreaking involve use of:
Positive reinforcement
Multiple cat household should have:
At least as many litter boxes as cats
Puppies and kittens learn to interact with their own species during:
The critical period.
_____ is important to human imprinting.
Hand-feeding
Dogs exhibiting signs of ____ are generally younger dogs, although some dogs may develop this condition later in life.
separation anxiety
Symptoms of separation anxiety:
Excessive vocalization, destructive behavior, inappropriate elimination, anorexia, hyperactivity, or inactivity. Sometimes vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Define conflict-related aggression.
Occurs when a dog is exposed to an uncomfortable or uncertain stimulus or conflict.
Define avoidance conditioning.
Learning that aggression will avoid the conflict and uses aggression to lessen its fear of the stimulus.
Define fear induced aggression.
Occurs whenever an animal is in a position from which it can’t escape.
*most common in vet hospitals.
Define predatory aggression.
Dogs and cats have an instinct to hunt and will display this by stalking and then pouncing on its prey, often without any warning.
Define pain induced aggression.
Aggressive behavior related to pain as a protective instinct. Pain/punishment will often intensify aggressive behavior.
Define inter-male aggression.
A natural instinct that is often eliminated with castration.
Define territorial aggression.
Dogs tend to be aggressive towards humans that aren’t members of their household. Cats tend to be aggressive toward other cats in their perceived territory.
_____ is rare but can occur in the postparturition period.
Maternal aggression.
Males reach sexual maturity at _____ when they begin spraying to mark their territory and call attention to themselves.
7-8 months of age.
Solutions for soiling indoors:
Adding another walk to the dog’s schedule or walking longer.
Cleaning and drying the soiled area, leading the dog to it, and making the dog lie there for a while.
Confining pet to its crate or room where it eats or sleeps while owner is away.
3 reasons why birds bite:
Fear
Excitement
Aggression
Inherited or genetically coded responses to environmental stimuli are also called:
Instincts
For positive reinforcement to be effective, a pleasant event must occur within____seconds of the behavior.
20
Aggression that an animal learns to avoid an uncomfortable stimulus is called:
Conflict-related
A dog that exhibits destructive behavior only when the owners are away is most likely suffering from:
Separation anxiety
An animal that doesn’t give a warning or threat prior to biting is most likely exhibiting:
Predatory aggression
Two basic kinds of reward:
Edible
Vocal
Describe the command-response-reward technique.
Involves giving a command and immediately rewarding the desired response every time it’s performed, until the pet responds consistently.
Describe clicker training.
Using a clicker to associate the sound with a reward. That way, the clicker can be used to reward when an immediate food reward can’t be given.
Describe the behavioral modification technique of extinction.
Involves elimination of a problem behavior by completely removing the reinforcement of the behavior.
Describe aversion therapy.
Involves creating a relationship between an unpleasant stimulus and an object that an animal may be marking, chewing, or otherwise damaging.
Describe avoidance therapy.
Involves the use of negative reinforcement to diminish a problem behavior.
Describe habituation.
Involves surrounding the animal with the stimulus causing the problem until the animal becomes acclimated to the stimulus and is no long afraid of it.
Describe punishment as a treatment technique.
Used to eliminate an undesirable behavior.
Must occur every time that the behavior occurs, be applied immediately, and be of appropriate intensity.
Describe counterconditioning.
Can replace an undesirable behavior with a desirable one.
Involves taking a stimulus linked to a negative emotion and reconditioning the animal by linking the stimulus to a positive emotional response.
Describe desensitization.
Involves diminishing a particular behavior by gradually exposing the animal to the stimulus that produces the inappropriate response.
Describe environmental modification.
Involves changing something in the environment to change a problem behavior.
Other medical approaches to behavioral treatment techniques:
Surgical
Pharmaceutical
Initial behavior modification sessions should last no more than ___ minutes.
5
True or False?
The goal of reprimanding a pet is to associate a behavior with danger or disorientation.
True
The behavior modification technique that involves elimination of a problem behavior by completely removing the reinforcement for the behavior is:
Extinction
Long-term pharmaceutical approaches to problem behavior usually involve administration of:
Hormones
One of the best ways to correct a biting habit in birds is to use a:
Wobble
Define behavior modification programs.
Training courses that use rewards and reprimands to stimulate changes in behavior.
1) command-response-reward
2) clicker training
3) extinction
4) aversion therapy
5) avoidance therapy
6) habituation
7) punishment
8) counterconditioning
9) desensitization
The four essential aspects of training are:
Reward, reprimand, trust, and consistency.
According to Charles Darwin, what biological mechanism allows members of the same species to respond appropriately to various conditions in the natural world?
Instinct
The process by which an animal becomes accustomed to its situation is referred to as:
Habituation
What do we call an immediate pleasant occurrence that follows a behavior?
Positive reinforcement
Animal behavior researchers often refer to an activity associated with punishment or reward as a/an:
Operant
Until approximately what age does the sensitive period last among dogs?
14 weeks
The most commonly reported behavior problem in cats is:
Breaking litter box training
Which of the following theories asserts that all animal activity is learned, rather than genetically programmed?
Behaviorism
The most common form of aggression seen in animal hospitals is:
Fear-induced
The point of a reprimand is to ____ an animal.
Startle
Upon reaching sexual maturity, male dogs and cats may mark their territory through:
Spraying
Which of the following are considered the most effective types of reward?
Food and praise
We commonly refer to early bonding with an object or animal as:
Imprinting
The most effective way to minimize spraying is:
Neutering
Automatic, or simple reflex, behavior is commonly referred to as:
An unconditioned response
Pharmaceutical therapy for behavior modification can cause:
Increased blood glucose
Learning through trial and error is often referred to as _____ learning.
Instrumental
Early researchers often referred to the predictable behaviors displayed by a particular species as:
Fixed action patterns
The type of behavior modification in which you would gradually expose an animal to something it’s afraid of is:
Desensitization
Biologists and veterinary specialists refer to the study of animal behavior as:
Ethology
The aggression a dog shows when it’s owner tries to take its food bowl is called _____.
Conflict-related.
In cats, the sensitive socialization period lasts until approximately ____ of age.
Eight weeks
What behavior modification technique is used to keep an animal away from an object or area?
Aversion therapy
What must first be done before treating an animal for a behavioral problem?
Determining the cause
What do we call the act of taking something away to increase a behavior?
Negative reinforcement
Explain the differences between the two major scientific approaches to studying animal behavior.
Classical Conditioning versus Operant Conditioning.
The idea that behavior is learned and not genetically programmed became one of the major scientific approaches to the study of animal behavior called classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov). Association of stimuli that occurs at approximately the same time or in the same area.
Operant conditioning works on the principle of associating a certain activity, known as the operant, with punishment or reward (B.F. Skinner).
