Behavior Flashcards
behavior modification programs
Training courses that use rewards and reprimands to stimulate changes in behavior.
behaviorism
The ethological approach that states behavior is learned rather than genetically programmed.
breaking litter box training
When a cat urinates or defecates someplace other than its litter box.
classical conditioning
The type of conditioned learning that associates stimuli occurring at approximately the same time or in roughly the same area.
classical ethology
The ethological approach asserting that much of what animal know is instinctive or innate.
conditioned stimulus
Sensory input unrelated to a simple reflex behavior.
dance
A complex pattern of movements performed by a bee that directs other bees to a food source.
ethology
The study of animal behavior.
evolution
The scientific theory that characterizes all related organisms as descended from common ancestors.
fixed action patterns
A term used by early ethologists to describe stereotypical or predictable behaviors of a species.
function
In ethological terms, survive value.
habituation
The process of learning that certain objects and events have little bearing on survival and can thus be ignored.
house soiling
Urinating or defecating inside the home.
imprinting
The acquisition in the very young of certain fixed action patterns.
innate
Instinctive
instinct
A combination of unleaded responses characteristic of a species.
instrumental learning
Learning by trial and error.
natural selection
The process that awards survival and reproduction success to individuals and groups best adjusted to their environment.
naturalists
Natural scientist.
nature-nurture controversy
The cru of two opposing schools: classical ethology, which views animal behavior as primarily instinctive, and animal psychology, which views animal behavior as primary learned.
operant
Functioning or tending to produce effects.
postparturition
Period of time after giving birth to offspring.
recognition of individuals
The process that allows animals to distinguish their place in a social context broader than their relationship with primary caregivers.
sensitive period
A specific stage early in an animal’s life when imprinting occurs.
