Lecture 23- Animal Behavior Flashcards
What is the difference between proximate and ultimate causation?
Proximate causation refers to an event that is immediately responsible for causing some observed result, whereas ultimate (distal) causation is concerned with the underlying mechanisms causing the behavior
What is a circannual rhythm?
Any biological rhythm involving a biological or physiological process that occurs or fluctuates at intervals of approximately one year (even in controlled environments from which seasonal cues have been eliminated)
What is the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning?
Classical conditioning involves associating an involuntary response and a stimulus, whereas operant conditioning is about associating a voluntary behavior with a reward or consequence
What is spatial learning/memory?
Process by which an organism acquires a mental representation of its environment
What is a fixed action pattern?
Instinctive (innate) behavioral response to a sign stimulus
How is communication defined?
Communication is the transmission and reception of mutually recognizable signals
In _________ conditioning, a new stimulus is associated with a pre-existing response through repeated pairing of new and previously known stimuli
Classical
How is behavior defined?
Action carried out by muscles under control of nervous system
What is circadian rhythm?
A natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle (repeats approximately every 24 hours)
With regards to behavior, what is imprinting?
Establishment of a long-lasting behavioral response to a particular individual or object (both innate and learning components)
An animal that is _________ is said to have no strong pair bonds
Promiscuous
True or False: An organism can prevent a fixed action pattern from proceeding to completion
False; once a fixed action pattern is initiated, it will proceed to completion even if the stimulus is removed
In ________ conditioning, an animal learns to perform a behavior more or less frequently through a reward or punishment that follows the behavior
Operant
What is the difference between the polygamy and polyandry patterns of mating?
In polygamy, one male has more than one female mate, compared to polyandry, in which one female has more than one male mate
What is a sign stimulus?
Stimulus that provokes a fixed action pattern response
What is the difference between innate behavior and learned behavior?
Innate behavior does not vary among individuals, whereas learned behavior varies with experience and differs between individuals
Behavioral imprinting occurs during a ______ period
Sensitive
With regards to sexual dimorphism, what is the difference between monogamous species and polygamous species?
In monogamous species, the appearance of the sexes are similar, whereas in polygamous species, the sex that attracts multiple partners tends to be showier and larger than the opposite sex
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are considered ______________ learning
Associative
Both direct fitness and indirect fitness can be broadly categorized as ___________ fitness
Inclusive
___________ learning proposes that people learn from one another, via observation, initiation, and modeling
Social
What does the optimal foraging model/theory state?
Although obtaining food provides an animal with energy, searching for and capturing the food require both energy and time (animals forage to minimize cost and maximize benefit)
What is monogamy?
Formation of a strong pair bond with one mate for at least one mating season
What is sexual dimorphism?
Distinct difference in appearance between the sexes of an animal
What is altruism?
Behavior that lowers an animal’s individual fitness but increases fitness of other individuals in the population
What is kin selection?
Form of indirect natural selection that increases fitness through breeding success of close relatives
