LEARNED &
INNATE
BEHAVIORS
BEHAVIOR
• STIMULUSSomething in
the
environment to
which an
organism will
respond.
BEHAVIOR
• BEHAVIORthe way an
organism
responds to its
environment.
BEHAVIOR
 This is one aspect of
adaptation that improves
an organism’s chances to
survive and reproduce.
2 TYPES OF
BEHAVIOR
• LEARNED BEHAVIOR
• INNATE BEHAVIOR
INNATE BEHAVIOR
o Behavior that is
present and
complete
without the need
for experience.
o behaviors
present at birth.
o the instinctive,
fixed,
unchanging
behavior that is
inherited.
INNATE BEHAVIORS
• Reflex- a simple, immediate, involuntary
response by a part of the body to a
particular stimulus.
INNATE BEHAVIORS
• Fight-or Flight- mobilizes your body for
greater activity. Heart rate increase,
blood supply to muscle. Controlled by
internal chemical mechanisms.
INNATE BEHAVIORS
• Instinct- A complex behavior.
Takes more time than a reflex.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Courtship Behavior
Territorial
Aggressive Behavior
Dominance Hierarchy
Migration, Hibernation, Estivation
Circadian rhythm
Courtship Behaviors
• A specific behavior •
or series of
behaviors that take
place prior to
mating.
• Could involve
sound, smell, visual
display…
Territorial Behavior
• A territory is a physical space an animal defends
against other members of its species.
• May contain breeding area, feeding area, and
potential mates, or all three
• Although it may not appear so, setting up
territories actually reduces conflicts, controls
population growth, and provides for efficient use
of animal resources.
Aggressive Behavior
• Aggressive behavior is used to intimidate
another animal of the same species.
• Animals fight or threaten one another in order
to defend their young, their territory, or a
resource such as food.
• Includes behaviors such as bird calling, teeth
baring, or growling.
• Using symbolic and not fighting till death
Dominance Hierarchy
• Dominance Hierarchy is a from of social
ranking within a group in which some
individuals are more subordinate than
others. ….The ability to form a dominance
hierarchy is innate, but the position each
animals assumes may be learned.
• Pecking order
• Alpha Male
Circadian Rhythm
• Circadian Rhythm. Is an instinctive
behavior that is exhibited in animals in
response to internal, biological rhythms.
• Can be based on 24 hours or seasonal
Migration, Hibernation, and
Estivation
• We all know what migration and
hibernation is…
Migration, Hibernation, and
Estivation
• What is estivation?
• Estivation is an innate instinctive behavior
that some animals that live in extreme heat
have developed.
Estivation
• Estivation is another form of torpor,
dormancy, or "sleep". Animals that estivate
are trying to escape things happening in their
environment.
• This happens in hot, desert climates where
heat and water are so important to the
animals that live there.
• Estivation protects these animals from high
temperatures and drought.
Estivation
• Breathing and heartbeat get very slow.
• The animal doesn't need as much food
and water to live since food is fuel for
energy and they aren't using much.
• Reptiles use 90-95% less energy when
they are estivating.
• Animals don't move, grow or eat during
this time.
LEARNED BEHAVIOR
-not
inherited,
but flexible
and can be
changed.
–take place
through
experience
or practice.
EXAMPLES OF LEARNED
BEHAVIORS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mimicry
Habituation
Imprinting
Trial & Error
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Insight Learning
EXAMPLES OF LEARNED
BEHAVIORS
• MIMICRY – when one
organism makes a
resemblance to another
species.
MIMICRY
– Hawk Moth
Mimicry
• This moth caterpillar
defends itself by
mimicking a snake.
MIMICRY
• This butterfly has
adapted to mimic a
dead leaf, a shape so
inedible and common
a predator would not
notice it.
MIMICRY
• This Katydid has
adapted to mimic a
leaf in both color and
shape.
MIMICRY
• Many prey animals have
found ways to startle a
predator and reduce their
chances of being eaten.
Some butterflies and
moths flash eye spots on
their wings, false eyes
which suggest a much
larger animal. Some
caterpillars play the same
trick.
MIMICRY
MIMICRY
MIMICRY
• From left to right are the Common Wasp,
Vespula vulgaris, and some of its mimics the Hornet Moth, Sesia apiformis, the Wasp
Beetle, Clytus arietis, and the Hoverfly,
Syrphus ribesii.
IMPRINTING
• The quick early learning of a
behavior that becomes a
permanent response to a
particular stimulus.
• A significant innate component
during a limited critical period
Who’s your
momma?
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• A pioneer in the
study of Learned
Behavior
• Ivan Pavlov
• Classical
Conditioning
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• An animals reflexes are trained to
respond to a new stimulus.
• Learning by association
• Experiment- Dog and Bell.
OPERANT CONDITIONING
• BF Skinner
• Did his work
in the
1940-1950’s
OPERANT CONDITIONING
• Takes place when an animals learns to
behave in a certain way through repeated
practice, in order to receive a reward or
avoid punishment.
• Trial and Error
• “Skinner Box”
Trial and Error
• A type of
learning in which
an animal
receives a reward
for making a
particular
response
HABITUATION
• Loss of responsiveness due to an
unimportant stimulus.
• OR to stimuli that do not provide
appropriate feedback.
HABITUATION
• Horse to sounds
• Snail to touch
• Gray squirrels
to respond to
“attack”
Insight
• The most complicated
form of learning is
insight learning.
• When an animal
applies something it
has already learned to
a new situation with a
period of trial and
error.
• You working a “new”
math problem you
have never
worked…but apply
principles you have
already learned in
class to solve it
correctly.
• Common among
humans and other
primates.
BEHAVIORS
• Keep in mind that there is NOT always a
clear cut line between behaviors that are
learned v/s those that are innate.
• Many behaviors involve a little of both.
• Nature v/s Nurture Theory.
• Social, Sexual, parental skills, etc
COMMUNICATION
• Many behaviors that animals do involve
interactions with other animals--Communication
• Humans-Language
• Sound
• Body Language
• Smell…Pheromones
PHEROMONES
• Chemicals released
by many different
animals as a form
of communication
• Mating
• Warning
• Protection