Lesson 1 – What is Behavior?
The Behavior of Animals
 An animal’s behavior consists of all the actions it
performs. ex: obtaining food, avoiding predators, and
finding a mate.
 Most behavior is a complex process in which different
parts of animals body work together.
Behavior as Response
 A stimulus is a signal that causes an organism to react
in some way.
 The organism’s reaction to the stimulus is called a
response.
 All animal behaviors are caused by a stimuli.
 Most behaviors help an animal survive or reproduce.
Behavior by Instinct
 Animals perform some behaviors by instinct, without
being taught.
 An instinct is a response to s stimulus that is inborn
and that an animal performs correctly the first time.
 Ex: Earthworms crawling away from bright light,
spiders spinning a web, birds building a nest.
Learned Behavior
 Learning is the process that leads to changes in
behavior based on practice or experience.
 Learned behaviors include imprinting, conditioning,
trial and error learning and insight learning.
 All learned behaviors depend in part on inherited
traits that have passed from parent to offspring. Ex:
lion cubs inherit physical features and instincts that
are necessary for hunting. Like paws and pouncing
Imprinting
 Imprinting is a learned behavior.
 In imprinting newly hatched birds and newborn
mammals recognize and follow the first moving
objects they see. This object is usually their mother.
 Once imprinting takes place, it cannot be changed.
 Imprinting is valuable for 2 reasons: 1) it keeps young
animals close to their mothers, who know where to
find food and stay away from predators. 2) allows
young animals to learn what other animals of their
own species look like.
Conditioning
 Learning that a particular stimulus or response leads
to a good or bad outcome is called conditioning.
 Pets are often trained using a form of conditioning.
 During the early 1900s, the Russian scientist Ivan
Pavlov formed experiments involving one kind of
conditioning.
Trial and Error Learning
 One form of conditioning is trial and error learning.
 In trial and error learning, an animal learns to perform
a behavior more and more skillfully.
 Through repeated practice, and animal learns to
repeat behaviors that result in rewards and avoid
behaviors that result in punishment.
 Many animals learn by trial and error which methods
are best for obtaining food.
Insight Learning
 When you solve a problem or learn how to do
something new by applying what you already know,
without a period of trial and error, you are using
insight learning.
 Insight learning is most common in primates, such as
gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans.