Chapter 26

Summary		Questions		Media Resources
26.1 Ethology focuses on the natural history of behavior.
• Behavior is an adaptive response to stimuli in the environment. An animal's sensory systems detect and process information about these stimuli.		1.  How does a hybrid lovebird's method of carrying nest materials compare with that of its parents? What does this comparison suggest about whether the behavior is instinctive or learned?		•Behavior in Voles •Polyandry in Hawks
26.2 Comparative psychology focuses on how learning influences behavior.
• Behavior is both instinctive (influenced by genes) and learned through experience. Genes are thought to limit the extent to which behavior can be modified and the types of associations that can be made. • The simplest forms of learning involve habituation and sensitization. More complex associative learning, such as classical and operant conditioning, involves a connection being made between two stimuli or a stimulus and a response. • An animal's internal state influences when and how a behavior will occur. Hormones can change an animal's behavior and perception of stimuli in a way that facilitates reproduction.		2.  How does associative learning differ from nonassociative learning? How does classical conditioning differ from operant conditioning? 3.  What is filial imprinting? What is sexual imprinting? Why do some young animals imprint on objects like a moving box? 4.  How does Marler's work on song development in white-crowned sparrows indicate that behavior is shaped by learning? How does it indicate that behavior is shaped by instinct?		•Repetition and Learning
26.3 Communication is a key element of many animal behaviors.
• Animals communicate by producing visual, acoustic, and chemical signals. These signals are involved in mating, finding food, defense against predators, and other social situations.		5.  How do communication signals participate in reproductive isolation? Give one example of a signal that is species-specific. Why are some signals individually specific?
26.4 Migratory behavior presents many puzzles.
• Animals use cues such as the position of the sun and stars to orient during daily activities and to navigate during long-range migrations.		6.  What is the definition of taxis? What are kineses? What cues do migrating birds use to orient and navigate during their migrations?
26.5 To what degree animals "think" is a subject of lively dispute.
• Many anecdotal accounts point to animal cognition, but research is in its infancy.		7.  What evidence would you accept that an animal is "thinking"?		• Can Dogs Think?

•  Scientists on Science •  How Scientists Think •  Student Papers

•  Bioethics Case Studies •  General Biology Weblinks

• Essential Study Partner

• Multiple Choice Quiz