Innate Behaviors

Notes Innate behaviors includes both automatic and instinctive. Innate behaviors are also known as inherited behaviors.

Automatic Responses A reflex is a simple, automatic response that involves no conscious control. –Example: jerking your hand away from something hot. A fight or flight response mobilizes the body for greater activity. Your body is being prepared to either fight or run from the danger.

Instinctive behaviors An instinct is a complex pattern of innate behavior. Instinctive behavior patterns may have several parts and may take weeks to complete. It begins when the animal recognizes a stimulus and continues until all parts are complete.

Instinctive cont. Courtship behavior is the behavior that animals exhibit when trying to find a mate.

Instinctive cont. A territory is a physical space an animal defends against other animals(including members of the same species). Reduces conflicts, controls population growth. Many animals produce pheromones to mark territorial boundaries.

Instinctive cont. Aggressive behavior is used to intimidate other animals. A dominance hierarchy is a form of social ranking within a group in which some individuals are more subordinate than others.

Instinctive cont. A 24-hour cycle of behavior is called a circadian rhythm. Migration occurs on a seasonal cycle and involves the movement of animals.

Instinctive cont. Hibernation-state in which the body temperature drops breathing rates decline to a few breaths per minute. Aestivation- a state of reduced metabolism that occurs in animals living in condition of intense heat.

Learned Behaviors Tabs include Habituation, Imprinting, Conditioning, And Insight

Habituation Occurs when an animal is repeatedly given a stimulus that is not associated with any punishment or reward. Loss of sensitivity. Young horses are often afraid of cars, but gradually, they become habituated to the city and ignore normal sights and sounds.

Imprinting A form of learning in which an animal, at a critical time, forms a social attachment to another object. Usually irreversible. Trial and error learning is when an animal receives a reward for making a particular response. Motivation, an internal need that causes an animal to act, is necessary for learning to take place.

Conditioning Learning by association. Example: Pavlov’s dogs –Pavlov trained a dog to salivate when it heard a bell.

Insight Learning in which an animal uses previous experience to respond to a new situation. Much of human learning is based on insight.

List examples for each: Innate behavior Reflex Fight/flight Courtship Territorial Pheromones Aggression Dominance hierarchy Circadian rhythm Migration Hibernation Aestivation Learned behavior Imprinting Trial and error Motivation Conditioning Insight