Animal Behavior

______ is the study of animal behaviors, which can be inherited or learned

ethology

______ behaviors are inherited behaviors, which have been shaped over time by _____

innate; natural selection

an animal's ______ refers to their ability to reproduce viable and fertile offspring

fitness

innate/inherited behaviors should increase an animal's _____

fitness

______ is the study of how innate behaviors increase fitness

behavioral ecology

the types of innate behaviors are: ______, ______, ______, and ______

instincts; reflexes; fixed action patterns (FAP); imprinting

______ are innate behaviors that occur without any thought and don't need to be taught

instincts

give example(s) of common instincts:

a baby suckling on a presented nipple

a ______ is an involuntary, rapid response to a stimulus

reflex

(innate behavior)

most reflex arcs in humans involve a ______ circuit

neural

the two types of reflex arcs are: ______ and _____

simple; complex

______ reflexes are the most rapid reflexes because ______ nerves synapse directly into the spinal cord

simple; peripheral

an example of a simple reflex is the ______ reflex (knee-jerk reflex)

patellar

When the patellar tendon below the knee is tapped, the leg reflexively kicks outward

the peripheral nerves are called ______ neurons and ______ neurons

afferent sensory ; efferent motor

______ sensory neurons travel from the stimulus to the CNS

afferent

______ motor neurons travel from the CNS to a muscle in order to coordinate a muscle contraction (response to the stimulus)

efferent

Complex reflexes are ______ than simple reflexes because the peripheral nerves are separated by an intermediary, called an ______.

slower; interneuron

_____ allow the appropriate response to be selected by the spinal cord or brain for a given stimulus

interneurons

(hence complex reflex)

an example of a complex reflex is the ______ reflex

withdrawal

(hand on hot stove)

a ______ is an innate behavior that is initiated by a specific stimulus and once initiated the behavior will almost always continue to completion (even when the stimulus is removed during the behavior)

fixed action pattern

the stimulus that initiates a fixed action pattern may also be called a _____ or ______ stimuli

releaser; sign

fixed action patterns tend to ______ fitness because they generate predictable responses to a stimulus, and because they are ______

increase; inherited/innate (they don't need to be learned by every subsequent generation)

______ is an innate way animals learn certain behaviors, and once this behavior is acquired, it can never be forgotten

imprinting

imprinting can only occur during a very limited time of an animal's life, known as the ______

critical period

______ behaviors ______ an animal's fitness because they allow animals to adapt to unexpected events, creating behaviors that will be more advantageous the next time that event occurs

learned; increase

the common forms of learning behaviors include: ______, ______, and ______

classical conditioning; operant conditioning; associative learning

______ involves learning to pair a neutral stimulus to an unconditioned stimulus

classical conditioning

______ stimuli do not elicit a physiological response

neutral

______ stimuli do elicit a physiological response that is called an unconditioned response

unconditioned (innate response)

in response to a conditioned stimuli there will be a ______

conditioned response

_____ occurs when a conditioned organism responds to stimuli that is not identical to the original conditioned stimulus

stimulus generalization

according to the stimulus generalization gradient, as a stimulus differs from the original conditioned stimulus more and more, what happens to the conditioned response?

as a stimulus differs from the original conditioned stimulus more and more,

the conditioned response will get smaller and smaller in magnitude

_____ involves the ability of an animal to differentiate between a conditioned stimuli, and other similar (but different) non-conditioned stimuli

stimulus discrimination

______ is when an animal learns to associate one of its behaviors with either a reward or a punishment

operant conditioning

In operant conditioning, if the action is ______, the animal is more likely to perform that action. If the action is ______, the animal is less likely to perform that action

rewarded; punished

the 4 types of operant conditioning include: ______, ______, ______, and _____

positive punishment; negative punishment;

positive reinforcement; negative reinforcement

adding something bad to decrease a behavior is known as ______

positive punishment

(pushing a dog's nose when he jumps)

adding something good to increase a behavior is known as _____

positive reinforcement

(giving a dog a treat when he jumps)

taking away something good to decrease a behavior is known as ______

negative punishment

(no longer paying attention to the dog when he jumps)

taking away something bad to increase a behavior is known as ______

negative reinforcement

(not pushing a dog's nose when he doesn't jump)

a ______ is an enclosed apparatus that contains some sort of lever for an animal to press, and upon pressing the lever, the animal will receive some sort of reinforcement to encourage the behavior or punishment to discourage the behavior

skinner box

______ occurs whenever an animal learns that two things are connected

associative learning

associative learning is beneficial to an animal's fitness because ______

it allows them to be more efficient in responding to a stimulus

classical and operant conditioning are types of ______ learning

associative

______ is a type of associative learning that occurs when an animal associates landmarks with a specific location

spatial learning

spatial learning is beneficial to the animal because it ______

allows animals the ability to return to a location they know is safe and they can sense if they're in an area where there might be perceived danger

______ is the phenomenon where a learned behavior is forgotten if it stops eliciting the expected response

extinction

_____ is a process where extinct behaviors are remembered through re-association

recovery

______ learning occurs when you are not associating a stimulus with a behavior

non-associative

______ occurs when an animal increases a behavioral response, whenever the stimulus that elicits the response occurs more often/frequently

sensitization

______ occurs when an animal learns to decrease a behavioral response in the face of a repetitive, meaningless stimulus

habituation

Habituation increases an animal's fitness because ______

it allows them to ignore what is irrelevant and focus more of their attention on what actually matters

______ occurs whenever an animal learns a behavior by watching another animal perform that same behavior

observational learning

observational learning is beneficial because it allows the animal to learn a new behavior without receiving ______, and it increases the animal's fitness because ______

reinforcement; it decreases the amount of time required to learn the behavior (efficiency)

______ occurs when an animal is placed in a scenario it has never faced before, yet they are able to do something that results in something good happening

insight

insight is beneficial because it allows the animal to learn behaviors without receiving ______, and it increases the animal's fitness because ______

reinforcement; it allows them to efficiently respond to unexpected events

animals typically have 3 types of movement: ______, ______, and ______

kinesis; taxis; migration

______ occurs when animals change their speed in random directions

kinesis

animals that move by kinesis will ______ if it is in a favorable environment and ______ if it is in an unfavorable environment

slow down; speed up

how does kinesis increase an animal's fitness?

it allows them to spend more time in a favorable environment (because they slow down here)

______ is movement that has a specific direction, either towards or away from a stimulus

taxis

taxis is a ______ change in ______ or speed

non-random; direction

______ taxis is directed toward a stimulus

positive

______ taxis is directed away from a stimulus

negative

______ is a type of taxis that has a directional response to the stimulus of light

phototaxis (can be positive/negative)

_____ is a type of taxis that has a directional response to a chemical signal

chemotaxis (can be positive/negative)

______ is defined as the relatively long-distance movement of animals from one area to another due to instinct

migration

migration is often ______, and is associated with moving from one area to another based on the availability of certain resources and environmental temperatures

seasonal

several types of communication include: ______, ______, ______, and ______

visual; auditory; tactile; chemical

visual communication can occur surrounding ______ behavior, ______ behavior, and ______

aggressive; submissive; courtship/mating rituals

______ communication communicates sounds

auditory

auditory communication is useful at ______, over ______, and through ______

night; long distances; water

______ communication is communication through touch

tactile

chemical communication occurs through hormone-like chemicals called ______

pheromones

______ pheromones (chemical communication) are used to attract mates or inform animals about beneficial environments

inviting

______ pheromones (chemicial communication) can be used as a signal to stay away

alarm

______ pheromones trigger immediate and reversible behaviors

releaser

______ pheromones trigger long-term (physiological) behaviors

primer

what do honeybees use as a means of auditory, tactile, and chemical communication?

the waggle dance (they walk in a figure-8 pattern while vibrating their wings and 'wagging' their abdomen)

*it is not a form of visual communication because a beehive is too dark

______ behaviors allow animals to interact for the purposes of companionship, finding food, protection, and mating

social

______ is a social behavior where animals group together (into a pack or herd) to better achieve some goal

cooperation

(ex. coordinated hunting)

______ behaviors occur when animals compete for food, territory, or mates

agonistic

agonistic behaviors may be broken down into ______, ______, and ______

threats; aggression; submission

aggressive behaviors between animals are often _____ to avoid both animals sustaining significant injuries

ritualized

the phenomenon in which a threat, followed by submission, can avoid aggression and the harm associated with it is called ______

appeasement behavior

a _____ is the 'pecking order' of animals within a group and is a socially accepted order

dominance hierarchy

top ranking animals, called ______ animals, are typically the most physically capable and receive the best access to resources

alpha

______ refers to the behaviors a group of animals use to protect their territory

territoriality

______ are another type of feeding behavior that allow animals to quickly locate foods that are abundant and safe to eat

search images

search images are achieved by ______ what the food that is safe to eat looks like

abbreviating

______ behaviors refer to the sacrifices an animal might make for its relatives

altruistic

altruism increases the altruist's (individual doing the sacrificing) _____ fitness

inclusive

inclusive fitness is the ______

sum of an animal's direct and indirect fitness

______ refers to the number of genes an animal can pass onto the next generation of its own

direct fitness

______ refers to the number of genes passed onto the next generation by an animal's relatives

indirect fitness

Hamilton's rule of altruism says that indirect fitness needs to _____ direct fitness for altruism to occur

exceed

r x B > C

where,

r x B = altruists' indirect fitness

C = direct fitness ("the cost")

______ refers to the way an individual animal's inclusive fitness is increased by indirect fitness

kin selection

kin selection is a form of natural selection, where ______ are the most fit

altruists

(because they maximize their indirect fitness)

_____ altruism refers to the sacrifices an animal might make for an unrelated animal of the same species in anticipation for a later reward

reciprocal

animals organize themselves into any one of several advantageous groups like ______, ______, ______, and ______

herds, flocks, schools, packs