Ch. 37 Behavioral Adaptations to the Environment Flashcards
Animal Behavior
External observable muscular activity. It is what an animal does when interacting with environment.
Behavioral Biology
Science of behavior
What did Karl Von Frisch do?
He pioneered the use of experimental methods in behavior.
What did Konrad Lorenz do?
The founder. He noted importance of comparing the behavior of various animals by same stimulus
What did Niko Tinbergen do?
He studied innate behavior and simple learning.
The immediate explanation for an organism’s behavior
Proximate cause
Evolutionary explanation for an organism’s behavior
Ultimate cause
Scientific search for evolutionary basis of behavior as mechanisms of reproductive success
Behavior ecology
Behavior that appears to be performed in virtually the same way by all members of a species
Innate Behavior
A genetically programmed, virtually unchangeable behavioral sequence performed in response to a certain stimulus
- enables to perform vital activities without learning (natural selection)
Fixed Action Patterns
A stimulus that triggers fixed action patterns
Sign Stimulus
A behavioral change resulting from experience
Learning
Habituation
Learning not to response to a repeated stimulus that conveys little/no info
- highly adaptive, focus on important info
Imprinting
Irreversible and limited to a critical time period in an animal’s life; results in strong bond between offspring and parent
- enables rapid learning (any age)
Associative Learning
Learning that a particular stimulus/response is linked to a reward/punishment
A type of learning in which arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment
Classical Conditioning
Learning to associate a particular behavioral act with a positive/negative effect
Trial - and - error learning
Imitation
Learning by observing and mimicking the behavior of others (no critical period)
Innovation
Ability to respond approximately to a new situation without prior experience
- mainly with primates
Ascribing human motivation, conscious, awareness or feeling to other animals
- don’t know if true/extent
Anthropomorphism
A biological cycle of 24 hours controlled by a biological clock (under influence of environmental cues)
- a pattern of activity repeated daily
- tested by Stefania Follini
- affects wellbeing, productivity, judgement
Circadian Rythm
Random movement in response to a stimulus
Kinesis
Directed movement resulting in an organism’s placing itself in a specific position relative to an environmental cue
Orientation Behavior
Virtually automatic orientation toward or away from a stimulus
Taxis