Introduction for the following 1) Specific action energy 2) Vacuum activity 3) Displacement activity 4) Models on the organization of instinctive behavior

1. RISHAD K A – MSc APPLIED ZOOLOGY:UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT

2. 1) Specific action energy
2) Vacuum activity
3) Displacement activity
4) Models on the organization of
instinctive behavior

4. Motivation : It is the activation or
stimulation of an animal to work
towards a specific goal
Goal : It is the aim or objective of a
particular behavior or activity

5. Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)
+ Also called innate, inborn or inherited behavior
+ It is the innate, genetically determined, species
specific behavior
+ It is a motor response that is initiated by some
environmental stimulus but that can continue to
completion without the influence of external stimuli

6. +A FAP is produced in response to an
external stimuli
+ Sign stimuli or signal stimuli are
specific external stimuli which can
elicit or trigger FAP in animals

7. SPECIFIC ACTION ENERGY /
Action specific energy (ASE)
+ Energy for a specific action
+ Konrad Lorenz introduced the
concept of action specific energy in
1937 and renamed it action specific
potential in 1981

8. According to Konrad Lorenz, motivation
increases with the passage of time. This
motivation is specific for one type of
behavior (e.g. either feeding, or fighting or
sexual behavior). This specific source of
motivational energy is called action specific
energy.

9. He postulated that action specific is constantly
being produced in the animal’s nervous system.
The energy is held in check by an inhibitory
mechanism until the appropriate stimulus releases it.
The released energy activates certain muscle
systems, and a particular behavior pattern results.

10. Konard Lorenz proposed the psycho-
hydraulic model to explain his Theory of
Action specific energy (ASE)
+ This theory and the model could not win
scientific acceptance for want of
neurophysiological evidences.

11. The theory holds that ASE is constantly
generated in the central nervous system (CNS) of
animals, and it represents the energy that is
required for carrying out FAP. Though it is
continuously produced, it is not freely available all
the time. This is because it is held in check by
some inhibitory mechanism, until appropriate sign
stimulus signals its release for a particular FAP.
Each FAP has its own ASE

12. According to the theory of ASE, the mechanism of motivation
involves an organized sequence of events.
1)To begin with, a sign stimulus (SS) is perceived by sense organs.
2) It is then transmitted to the CNS as nerve impulses.
3) In response to it, the CNS raises the level of ASE.
4) High ASE level serves as an internal stimulus which is
transmitted to the Innate releasing mechanism (IRM) centre in
the CNS.
5)This centre, in turn, stimulates the release of ASE to elicit an
appropriate FAP.

13. - It has also been held that when the sign stimulus
becomes stronger, motivation level will increases with an
increased accumulation of ASE.
- The concept of action specific energy is
consistent with observations of two types
of behavioral activity, vacuum activity and
displacement activity.

14. Vacuum activities (or vacuum behaviors)
- Vacuum activities are innate, fixed action
patterns (FAPs) of animal behavior that are
performed in the absence of a sign stimulus
(releaser) that normally elicit them.
- This type of abnormal behavior shows that a key
stimulus is not always needed to produce an
activity.

15. One example of vacuum activity was described in the
reproductive behavior of ring doves
(Streptopelia risoria). In an experiment, the male dove,
isolated from females of his own species, eventually
courted a stuffed model of a female that he had
previously ignored. As time went on, he became even less
discriminating in his choice of a mate and would bow and
coo to a rolled-up cloth. Finally, even the corner of his
cage elicited courtship behavior (W, Craig 1918)

16. ‘Tongue-rolling' by calves.
One vacuum activity that has been studied is 'tongue-rolling' by
calves. Calves raised for 'white' veal are generally fed a milk-like diet
from birth until they are slaughtered at about four months of age.
The calves are prevented from consuming roughage such as grass or
hay partly because the iron contained in such plant-based food would
cause their muscles to assume a normal reddish color instead of the
pale color those purchasers of this product demand.
The diet, however, is unnatural because calves would normally start
to forage and ruminate from about two weeks of age. When limited to
a milky diet, some calves will spend hours per day in what appears to
be 'vacuum grazing'. They extend the tongue out of the mouth and
curl it to the side

17. DISPLACEMENT ACTIVITY
During times of conflict, animals are often observed
performing behaviors that seem to be totally irrelevant to
the situation.
Displacement activities occur when an animal experiences
high motivation for two or more conflicting behaviors: the
resulting displacement activity is usually unrelated to the
competing motivations.

18. A human may scratch their head
when they do not know which of two
options to choose

19. In the assessment of animal welfare,
displacement activities are sometimes
used as evidence that an animal is highly
motivated to perform a behavior that
the environment prevents

20. References
1) Perspectives on Animal behavior- 2nd and 3rd
editions– Good enough- McGuire-Jakob (John wiley &
Sons .Inc)
2) Animal behavior (11th edition) Dustin R Rubenstein,
John Alcock - Oxford university press
3) Wikipedia