Instinctive Behaviours

What is the difference between instinctive and learned behavior in animals?

Instinctive behavior is inherent from birth, while learned behavior is acquired through experience.

What is Domestication?

The process of adapting wild animals for human use.

What does Natural Selection refer to?

The process through which traits that enhance survival and reproduction become more common in a population.

Define Neoteny.

The retention of juvenile features in the adult form of a species.

What is Hereditary Behaviour?

Behaviors that are passed down from parents to offspring through genetics.

What is Innate Behaviour?

Behaviors that are natural and genetically programmed, not learned or acquired.

What is Selective Breeding?

The process of breeding animals for specific traits.

What are Fixed Action Patterns (FAPs)?

Innate behaviors that are triggered by specific stimuli and performed in a consistent manner without practice.

What is Habituation?

A learning process where there is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

What is Imprinting in terms of animal learning?

A type of learning that is irreversible and limited to a sensitive period.

What is Trial and Error learning?

A learning process that involves associating a behavioral act with a positive or negative outcome.

What is Observational Learning?

Learning that occurs by watching and mimicking others.

Define Parental or social learning.

Learning essential survival skills from parents or other members of the species.

What is Cultural Behaviour in animal learning?

Learning behaviors that are passed between generations within a species through observation.

What role do Environmental Stimuli play in animal behaviors?

They influence the rhythmic patterns of behavior, such as sleep/wake cycles and seasonal changes.

What are circadian rhythms?

Daily repeating patterns of behavior, such as sleep and wakefulness, influenced by an internal biological clock.

How can captivity limit learned behavior in animals?

Captivity can restrict the range of experiences and environmental interactions necessary for learning.