Transcript Behavior

Behavior
Section 36.1
What is behavior?
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An action or series of actions in response to a
stimulus
The stimulus may be external (being chased) or
internal (being hungry)
Ethology – the study of behavior
Scientists who study behavior look at:
How? – what triggers and controls the behavior
Why? – what are the benefits of the behavior
Natural Selection
Natural selection favors traits that will
improve an organism’s chances of survival and
reproduction
 Some behavior can be shown to be the result
of natural selection
 Natural selection works on individuals –
animals will behave in ways that benefit them,
not the species as a whole
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Genetically influenced behavior
Also called innate or instinctive behavior
 The behavior happens the same way every
time, without being taught – fixed action
pattern behavior
 Example: nest-building
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Learning and behavior
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Learning by experience can change behavior
Habituation – an animal learns to ignore a frequent,
harmless stimulus (ex: scarecrow)
Conditioning – the association of one stimulus with an
expected outcome
Two types:
Classical conditioning – an unrelated response becomes
associated with the stimulus
 Ex: Pavlov’s dogs: bell rings  food
Operant conditioning – trial-and-error learning that
associates an action with a reward or punishment
 Ex: B.F. Skinner: push lever  get food
Reasoning – analysis of a problem to find a new solution
Genetic and learned go together…
Scientists now think that the complex
behavior of vertebrates is a combination of
genetic and learned aspects
 Imprinting – learning during a specific period
of the animal’s life – example: birds
 The imprinting is genetic (innate) but the
process is learned (experienced)
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