animal behaviour

what is ethology?

the study of animal behaviour

what is included in ethology?

the natural/species specific behaviours

studying animals in their natural environment

study relationships among conspecifics

what are some influencing factor on behaviour?

prey vs predator

social or solitary

individual hunting or pack hunting

altricial or precocial

burrowing or non burrowing

what are the 4 positive emotional systems?

desire-seeking

social-play

care

lust

what are the 4 negative emotional systems?

fear-anxiety

frustration

panic-grief

pain

what is the desire-seeking emotional system?

object play, scent work, predation

what is the social play emotional system?

positive interactions with conspecifics

e.g. rough/tumble play

what is the care emotional system?

motivating nurture of offspring or towards others

what is the lust emotional system?

reproductive motivation promoting courtship/mating

what is the fear-anxiety emotional system?

protective response

what is the frustration emotional system?

activated by thwarting of expectation/achievement

what is the panic-grief emotional system?

activated by the loss of proximity to nurturing caregiver

what are the 4 negative behaviour responses?

appeasement

inhibition

repulsion

avoidance

what is the classical conditioning/pavlovian learning theory?

involuntary learning

physiological stimulus is paired with neutral stimulus

neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus, creates a conditioned response

what is the operant conditioning learning theory?

voluntary action with consequences

important to think about the animal’s emotional state