What Is Behaviour Flashcards
To memorize shit about the makings of behaviour
What is behaviour about?
Efficiency for the animal. Behaviour must trigger something/ have consequences otherwise the animal won’t do it.
What is the “dead man test”
If a dead man can do it, it isn’t behaviour.
What is behaviour..
Observable activity, something an animal does.
Types of Behaviour (6) + example
Molecular behaviour - swallowing Molar Behaviour - Manual (moving away) Overt - visible (eating) Covert - not visible (thinking) Voluntary - determined (speaking) Involuntary - occurs naturally (breathing)
The name of the study of animal behaviour from a biological slant?
Ethology
Two types of stimuli behaviour is triggered by
Internal and external stimuli.
Other than external and internal stimuli, behaviour science looks at (x3)
How genes and the environment coincide
Evolutionary growth
Adaptation to changes in the environment.
Behaviour occurs ___ ___ ______
And is a response to _______, either ______ or ______
For a reason.
Stimuli
Internal.
External.
Behaviours are _______, if they do not do something they are _______
Effective.
Ineffective
What is behaviour ecology
Evolutionary basis for animal behaviour. Behaviours that develop over time, are ‘selected’ (for survival).
What are Tinbergen’s four “whys”?
Causation, ontogeny, functional, evolution.
What are the two types of causes
Proximate and ultimate.
What are the anatomical and physiological mechanisms underlying a behaviour? (causation) (5) What type of cause is it?
Genetic bases Neural mechanisms Hormonal Mechanisms Morphology Environmental (External Stimuli, see above in notes)
Proximate cause
What is the ontogeny (development) of a behaviour (x3)? What type of cause is it?
Changes with age
Interactions of genes with environment (over time)
Innate vs. Learned components
What are the functional (adaptive) reasons for a behaviour(x2)? - What type of cause is it?
What is purpose of the behaviour?
Contribution of a behaviour pattern to individual fitness (survival).
Ultimate cause
What is the evolutionary history of a behaviour(2)? What type of cause is it?
Expression of a behaviour in related species
Evolutionary changes in behaviour in related lineages
Ultimate cause.
What is “fitness”
Persistence of genes in a population.
Animals that engage in complex behaviour survive and reproduce because they have inherited genes that allow them to be successful in a particular environment.
Natural selection traits (3)
Ones that ensure survival and easy care:
Ones that increase suitability for intended use:
Ones that are socially unacceptable:
What is survival of the fittest?
The better adapted you are to an environment, the more likely you will survive
What is Artificial Selection
Human selected traits in animals (humans have done this for centuries)
Easy care & Survival, increased trainability, more production, reduced fear/aggression, socially acceptable
CAN GO WRONG
What is morphology? How is it selected?
Physical size shape and structure of the animal
Morphology and behaviour can be independently selected.
WYM instinct vs experience?
Behaviour results from the interaction of genetically based behaviours, and behaviours based on experience.
Behaviour may be instinctive, learned, or the result of an interaction between learned and innate behavioural patterns.
Instinctual behaviour is…
under strong genetic control.
Performed in the same way by all individuals of a species or a population across environments
Fixed action patterns are…
Unchangeable series of actions triggered by a specific stimulus: (goose sees egg outside the group, pulls egg back to group)
Fish automatically fights one species of fish
Once initiated, the sequence is performed in its entirety, regardless of any changes in circumstances.
Learned Behaviour is….
modification of behaviour as a result of specific experiences. Learning enables animals to change their behaviours in response to changing environmental conditions .
Instinct is…
Instinctive (Genetics, not modified by individual)
Uniform across population
Unaffected by environment
Beneficial
Learned is…
Based on experience (Modified by individual, trial & error)
High variation across population
Affected by environment
Capacity to learn = natural selection
What is imprinting?
Interaction between innate and learned behaviour
Learning that is limited to a specific time period in an animal’s life, and that is generally irreversible. (sensitive period).
Who used Geese to study imprinting? How did he do it?
Konrad Lorenz, he spent the sensitive period with hatchlings and they followed him around, having no recognition for their mother.
What other models of behaviour are there (6)?
Perception & Detection
Discrimination
Acquisition
Choice & Preference (Game theory - study of how and why people make choices)
Classical conditioning (Automatic processing)
Operant behaviour. (Behavioural economics).
What is classical conditioning?
Pairing an innate behaviour with a known stimulus.
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning focuses on the consequences of behaviour.
What are the ABCs of behaviour, what do they mean?
Antecedent (what triggered it), Behaviour (what did the animal do?) Consequences (how did it that behaviour benefit the animal?)
What are the different types of behaviour? (11)
Maternal
Dominance Hierarchies
Agonistic Behaviour (Threatening or combative interaction between two individuals of the same species)
Competitive Behaviours
Territorial Behaviours
Foraging Behaviours
Migratory Behaviours
Communication Behaviours (Vocal, pheramones, body language)
Altruistic Behaviour (Rats will choose friendship over food).
Courting behaviour
Nurturing behaviour.
What is cognitive behaviour?
Cognitive behaviour: Thinking, reasoning, processing information to understand complex concepts and solve problems are cognitive behaviours (Frontal lobe).
