Animal Behaviors Innate and Learned

What is Behavior? Behavior is anything an animal does in response to a stimulus. • A stimulus is an environmental change that directly influences the activity of an organism. Animals have different behaviors for different reasons, like.. – Some they learn. – Some they are born knowing how to do.

Behaviors Animals behave in certain ways for four basic reasons: – to find food and water – to interact in social groups – to avoid predators – to reproduce

Types of Behaviors An innate behavior is any behavior that occurs naturally in all animals of a given species. An innate behavior is also called an instinct.

Examples of Innate Behaviors Cats - Hunting Spiders – Spinning Webs Birds – Building Nests Baby Birds – Opening their mouth to be fed

Learned Behaviors Learned behavior is behavior that occurs only after experience or practice. Learned behavior can be changed if conditions change. Humans depend on learned behaviors more than any other species. Learned = Aquired

Ways to learn Habituation is learning to get used to something after being exposed to it for a while. Observational learning is learning by watching and copying the behavior of someone else. Conditioning is a way of learning that involves a reward or punishment.