Biology Animal Behavior

Question 1

Reflexes are automatic responses to simple ___ and are recognized as reliable behavioral responses following a given environmental stimulus

Answer 1

stimuli

Question 2

A ___ is controlled at the spinal cord, connecting a two-neuron pathway from the receptor (afferent neuron) to the motor (efferent neuron)

Answer 2

simple reflex

Question 3

The ___ innervates the effector (e.g. a muscle or gland)

Answer 3

efferent nerve

Question 4

More complex reflex patterns involve neural integration at a higher level of the __ or even the cerebrum

Answer 4

brainstem

Question 5

The startle response involves the integration of many ___ in a system termed the reticular activating system, which is responsible for sleep-wake transitions and behavioral motivation

Answer 5

neurons

Question 6

Fixed-action patterns are complex, coordinated, ___ behavioral responses to specific patterns of stimulation in the environment

Answer 6

innate

Question 7

For fixed-action patterns, the ___ that elicits the behavior is referred to as the releaser

Answer 7

stimulus

Question 8

Daily cycles of ___ are called circadian rhythms

Answer 8

behavior

Question 9

Just as ___ stimuli influence many naturally occurring biological rhythms, biological factors influence behavior governed by period environmental stimuli

Answer 9

environmental

Question 10

The capacity for learning adaptive responses is closely correlated with the degree of ___ (i.e., the capacity of the nervous system, particularly the cerebral cortex, for flexibility and plasticity)

Answer 10

neurologic development

Question 11

___ is one of the simplest learning patterns involving the suppression of the normal start response to stimuli

Answer 11

habituation

Question 12

In habituation, repeated ___ results in decreased responsiveness to that stimulus

Answer 12

stimulation

Question 13

Classical or ___ conditioning involves the association of a normally autonomic or visceral response with an environmental stimulus

Answer 13

Pavlovian

Question 14

In 1927, Ivan Pavlov discovered that if a dog was presented with an arbitrary stimulus (e.g. a bell) and then presented with food, it would eventually salivate on hearing the ___ alone

Answer 14

bell

Question 15

An established (innate) ___ consists of an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., food) and the response that is naturally elicited, termed the unconditioned response (e.g., salivation)

Answer 15

reflex

Question 16

(operant or instrumental conditioning) ___ or reward includes providing food, light , or electrical stimulation of the animal’s brain “pleasure centers.”

Answer 16

positive reinforcement

Question 17

(operant or instrumental conditioning) the animal has developed a ___ connection between the action and the removal of something unpleasant, and the animal is more likely to repeat the behavioral response

Answer 17

positive

Question 18

(operant or instrumental conditioning) Punishment involves ___ an organism so that it will stop exhibiting a given behavior pattern

Answer 18

conditioning

Question 19

The several responses to a ___ are believed to be ordered in a habit family hierarchy

Answer 19

stimulus

Question 20

Punishment weakens a specific ___ and lowers its order in the hierarchy

Answer 20

behavioral response

Question 21

In ___ and operant conditioning, the response is diminished and finally eliminated in the absence of reinforcement

Answer 21

instrumental

Question 22

The recovery of the conditioned response after extinction is called ___

Answer 22

spontaneous recovery

Question 23

___ is the ability of a conditioned organism to respond to stimuli that are similar but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus

Answer 23

stimulus generalization

Question 24

___ involves the ability of the learning organism to respond differentially to slightly different stimuli

Answer 24

stimulus discrimination

Question 25

A ___ is established after the organism has been conditioned, whereby stimuli further and further away from the original conditioned stimulus elicit responses with decreasing magnitude

Answer 25

stimulus generalization gradient

Question 26

___ is a process in which environmental patterns or objects presented to a developing organism during a brief critical period in early life become accepted permanently as an element of its behavioral environment (i.e., “stamped in” and included in an animal’s behavioral response)

Answer 26

imprinting

Question 27

A display may be defined as an ___ that has evolved as a signal for communication between members of the same species

Answer 27

innate behavior

Question 28

___ are specific behaviors found in all animals, including humans

Answer 28

reproductive display

Question 29

___ are specific behaviors that function to reduce physical harm to the animal

Answer 29

agonistic displays

Question 30

The ___ is frequently referred to as the pecking order

Answer 30

social hierarchy

Question 31

The larger the ___, the smaller the territories are likely to be

Answer 31

population

Question 32

Many animals secrete substances called ___, which influence the behavior of other members of the same species (olfactory)

Answer 32

pheromones

Question 33

In addition to serving as sex attractants, ___ may also be secreted as alarm or toxic defensive substances

Answer 33

releaser pheromones

Question 34

Primer pheromones produce ___-term behavioral and physiological alterations in receiving animals

Answer 34

long