Lesson 3 - General Behavior Flashcards
Describes how quickly one processes motion or intermittent frames of light as separate images or a steady picture
Flicker fusion
True or False: Calves are less startled by loud noises when placed under green light
True
True or False: Dogs and cats can hear ultrasonic frequencies
True
An organ between the hard palate and nasal cavity linked to the roof of the mouth that is responsible for pheromone reception; a special receiver organ all species have, EXCEPT humans
Vomeronasal (Jacobson’s) Organ
True or False: Genetics have no influence on behavior
False; nearly all behaviors are associated with some form of heritable genetic variation
Genetically-acquired, inherited behavioral responses to specific situations or stimuli
Temperament
Experiences and environment during fetal term, parturition, maternal actions/behavior, neonatal period, juvenile, and adulthood all influence…
Behavior
Novelty and varied sensory input is require for…
Normal development of brain and sensory organs
What effect does long term exposure to a barren environment w/o variety and sensory stimulation have on nervous system development (upon reaching adulthood)?
More reactive and excitable to any new stimuli
True or False: Effects of deprivation during early development are permanent
True
The time in life of animal when small amount of experience - or total lack of experience - will have a large effect on later behavior
Sensitive period
Process of learning about environment, littermates, mother, and humans; play
Socialization
Combination of animal’s temperament, learning experiences, and development; describes how an animal may react to general situations
Personality
Describes all of the meaningful aspects of an organism’s sensory-perceptual world in terms of that particular organism; German word for “environment”
Umwelt
Behavior always depends on…
Genetics and environment
Describes acquired information that is factual, quantifiable and measurable; not influenced by personal bias
Objective observations
Describes acquired information that could be biased and is open for interpretation
Subjective observation
Why should we objectively, not subjectively, observe and describe discrete, objective behaviors in context of the animal?
To avoid overstating or oversimplifying and animal’s behavior
True or False: One should avoid words like “frightened”, “angry”, or “aggressive” when describing behavior objectively
True; alternatively, describe things like the movement of one part of the body relative to another (i.e. hunched back/tense body)
Standardized description/catalog of discrete, objective behaviors of an animal used in animal welfare assessment; used to describe behaviors in context in which they occur
Ethogram
Scientific study of animal behavior usually considering behavior under natural conditions and as adaptive and evolutionarily influenced; temporal, environmental, and social context of behavior
Ethology
Shows the sequence of events when 2+ animals communicate
Interaction diagram
Quantifies actions of 1 animal in an interaction and the responses of another animal; behavioral interactions
Transition matrix
Ethogram combined with documentation and records of frequencies of behaviors; displays how much/proportion of time an animal allocates to performing certain behaviors or activities over a designated time period
Time/activity budget
Interpreting behaviors IN CONTEXT is the next crucial step to ensuring the most accurate assessment of an animal. In other words, we must factor the __________ and ________ into our analysis in order to gather an accurate understanding of an animal’s behavior.
Environment; situation
How can stress and negative emotional states influence normal maintenance behaviors?
They can cause decrease or complete absence of these behaviors (i.e. refusal to eat/poor appetite, constant laying/not ambulating, absence of grooming)
The full spectrum of an animal’s “time budgets” and why they perform these behaviors
Behavioral repertoire
What are the general benefits of exploration behavior for animals?
Survival, gain info on predictable and unpredictable patterns of change, engage learning/memory capacities
Which Tinbergen question is described here?
INTERNAL; what controls the behavior; molecular, physiological, neurological, hormonal, cognitive basis for behavior
Mechanism
(Proximate causes: immediate, the HOW)
(I.e. Which part of the brain causes barking or what other mechanism causes barking such as air flow over the larynx?)
Which Tinbergen question is described here?
How and when is the behavior acquired and developed during the animal’s lifetime? How does it change with age, and what early experiences result in behavior?
Development (Ontogeny)
(Proximate causes: immediate, the HOW)
(I.e. How does barking develop from birth to puppy to adult? Does the dog learn from other dogs or is the barking an innate developmental behavior, and what’s the interaction?)
Which Tinbergen question is described here?
Why did this behavior help the individual live and reproduce? What is the adaptive significance, usefulness in terms of fitness? Why does the animal respond in THIS way instead of another way?
Utility/Survival
(Ultimate causes: deeper purpose/value of the behavior, the WHY)
(I.e. Barking developed as communication within and between animals; defense of territory)
Which Tinbergen question is described here?
Why did the behavior get selected over others? Why did natural selection modify the behavior over time? Where did the behavior come from originally in context of the animals ancestral development?
Evolution
(Ultimate causes: deeper purpose/value of the behavior, the WHY)
(I.e. Barking developed via domestication, likely selective and non-purposeful)
True or False: Emotions in animals are the same as feelings in humans
False; beware of anthropomorphism
Emotions in animals are…
Discretely focused and short-lived states of an animal at a particular moment that reflect the interaction of an animal’s personality with its environment
Includes all emotions or feelings experienced as pleasant or unpleasant (experienced consciously and which motivate animals to behave in particular ways)
Affective state
Current neuroscience states that…
Emotional systems in the brain drive behavior, and brain systems (located in the subcortical areas) control emotions
The part of the brain used for thinking and flexible problem solving is the…
Cerebral cortex
The ________ system of the brain is responsible for emotions, in general. It has a modifying or directly causal effect on a lot of behavior.
Limbic
The goal-directed urge to perform a specific behavior, triggered when sensory stimuli/input combined with previous experience spurs emotion, is called…
Motivation
Describes when an animal has competing emotions or motivations
Emotional conflict
Describes when an animal is motivated to perform a behavior, but is not able to do so (no available outlet or means to perform the behavior)
Frustration
Term for when previous experiences (positive or negative), emotion, and affective state influence cognitive processes, including attention, judgement, and memory
Cognitive bias
Individuals with a more negative state of mind are more likely to…
Interpret ambiguous/unknown information or stimuli as a threat rather than something neutral or positive
Describes the relationship between 2 individuals when they interact over a situation or over a resource, and the ability of an animal to displace another from that resource
Dominance
(Note: This is NOT a personality trait, it is a RELATIONSHIP. Dominance can change between animals in different social situations)
What is the purpose of social hierarchies?
To decrease conflict over valued resources (food, shelter, territory, mates, etc.)
Peaceful relations are maintained by frequent displays of…
Deference behaviors
De-escalation behaviors or “cut-off” signals by an individual toward another to diffuse tension and conflict
Deferential (deference) behaviors
Deferential behavior with pacifying signals to another individual
Appeasement behavior
Greeting and care (or attention) seeking behavior towards a higher ranking individual (examples in dogs include nuzzling, lowering the body, and crouching)
Active appeasement
Reduction in activity with a goal of diverting/decreasing attention from a higher ranking individual (examples in dogs include flattening ears, tail tucking, and urinating)
Passive appeasement
Dominant/dominance and submissive/submission are categorized as…
Relationships
Assertive/agnostic and deferent or appeasement are categorized as…
Behaviors
