Transcript Innate and learned behavior

Innate and
learned
behavior
Option E.3
Assessment
Statements

Distinguish between innate and learned behavior.

Design experiments to investigate innate behavior in
invertebrates, including either a taxis or a kinesis.

Analyze data from invertebrate behavior experiments in
terms of the effect on chances of survival and
reproduction.

Discuss how the process of learning can improve the
chance of survival.

Outline Pavlov’s experiments into conditioning of dogs.

Outline the role of inheritance and learning in the
development of birdsong in young birds.
Two types of scientists


Ethologists

study the behavior of animals in their
natural environment
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Examine patterns of behavior that affect
an animal’s life
Psychologists

Study the behavior of animals in an
artificial environment

Collect data on learning and motivation
that could never be measured in the
natural environment
Etymology
ethologist

from Greek: ἦ θος,
ethos , "character";
and -λογία , -logia
psychologist

Ancient Greek
ψυχή (psukhē),
“‘soul’”) + logia (“‘study of ’”)
Innate behavior

Develops independently of
environmental context

Spider spins web correctly the first time
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Infants suckle innately
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Controlled by genes and inherited
from parents
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Some performed in certain order
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Mating behavior of the three-spined
stickleback fish
Learned behavior

Not genetically programmed
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Process of gaining knowledge or skills
or modifying existing knowledge or
skills
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Learning can only be measured by
performance


Ex. Pedal pushing results in gain of food
Behavior output is not always easily
seen, therefore, learning is sometimes
difficult to measure
Comparison
Innate behavior
Learned behavior
Develops independently of the
environmental context
Dependent on the environmental
context of the animal for
development
Controlled by genes
Not controlled by genes
Inherited from parents
Not inherited from parents
Developed by natural selection
Develops by response to an
environmental stimulus
Increases chance of survival and
reproduction
May or may not increase chance of
survival and reproduction
Investigating innate
behavior in
invertebrates

Innate behaviors can be measured as
the animals respond to environmental
stimuli

Two basic kinds of movement are seen
in invertebrate animals:
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Taxis

Kinesis
Taxis

A directed response to a stimulus
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If the animal’s body is directed
toward the stimulus, it has a positive
response
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If the animal’s body is directed away
from the stimulus, it has a negative
response
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Taxes are identified by the type of
stimuli to which the organism is
responding
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Chemotaxis: response to chemicals in the
environment; experiments involving variation in
pH, dissolved drugs, food, pesticides
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Phototaxis: response to light; experiments
involving different wavelengths of light,
intensities, and different types of bulb
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Gravitaxis: response to gravity; experiments with
organism in container that is turned upside down
or on a turntable

Rheotaxis: response to water current; experiment
involving animals with and against current
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Thigmotaxis: response to touch; experiment
involving different types of material to touch an
organism
Commonly used
organisms
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Planaria
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

Flatworm which
lives in lakes and
ponds under leaves
and rocks and hides
for protection
Active and move by
contraction of
muscle fibers in
their body
Simple nervous
system; eyespots
which contain
photoreceptors;
chemoreceptors
which respond to
certain chemicals
(food)
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Euglena
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Single-celled
protist
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Has flagellum
which propels it
quickly through the
water
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Has an eyespot
which is stimulated
by light

Has chlorophyll
Kinesis
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Movement in response to a nondirectional stimulus, such as
humidity
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Rate of movement of the animal
depends on the intensity of the
stimulus, not its direction

Animal does not move toward or away
from the stimulus buy randomly until
it is in a more comfortable spot
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Orthokinesis: when an organism moves slowly or
rapidly (changes speed) in response to the
stimulus but does not move towards the stimulus
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Klinokinesis: when an organism turns slowly or
rapidly in response to the stimulus but it does
not move towards the stimulus
Commonly used
organisms
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Isopods (woodlice; rolly pollies)
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Terrestrial crustaceans
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Breath with gills; need moisture in order
to breath
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Live in damp places; die if exposed to dry
conditions for a long period of time
Learning improves the
chance of survival
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Learning occurs most easily when it
results in the animal’s survival
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Imprinting – process by which young
animals become attached to their
mother within the first day or so after
hatching or birth; assures that the
young stay close to their mother for
protection and as a source of food
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Food hoarding – store food when it is
plentiful and return when there is a
shortage; allows them to stay
nourished even in times of food
shortages
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Song – attracts a mate and deters
rival males
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How to get food
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Mimicry
Pavlov and
conditioning
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Classical conditioning can be used to
modify a reflex response
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Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov
designed experiments to illustrate
classical conditioning
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His subjects were dogs
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Salivation is a reflex response to the presence of
food in the mouth
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Food is unconditional stimulus which elicits
salivation which is unconditional response
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Neutral stimulation that Pavlov employed was the
ringing of a bell
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He rang the bell (conditioned stimulus) just before
the dog tasted the food
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After training, the could ring the bell (CS) and the
dog would salivate (conditioned result)
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Dog had learned to salivate to the neutral stimulus
Learning of birdsong in
young birds
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Each species of bird has a species-specific
song which is inherited
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Birds learn to improve the song they
have inherited
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Birds are able to sing due to their vocal
organ, called the syrinx located at the
bottom of their trachea
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Birds control the pitch by altering the
tension in the membranes of the syrinx
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If birds are kept in a lab and denied any
auditory stimulation, they produce a
crude song
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After hatching, there is a
memorization phase in which
the bird is silent but listening
to the song of his species from
adults (males)
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He attempts to match his
template to the full adult song
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Phase if over within 100 days
(sensitive period)
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2 nd phase is motor phase in
which he practices singing,
continuing to listen to his own
song and match it to his
father ’s
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As he becomes sexually
mature, his song will become
perfected and he will begin to
search for a mate
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Crude template is innate; adult
song is learned