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History of Animal Behavior1
This document discusses the history of theories of animal behavior from ancient philosophers like Aristotle to modern ethologists. It covers early ideas like Lamarck's theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics and Darwin's theory of natural selection. Later, William James rejected the idea that animal behavior is purely instinctual while Skinner's experiments with operant conditioning in a Skinner Box influenced ideas of learning. Ethologists like Lorenz, Tinbergen, and von Frisch studied animal communication and behavior in natural environments.
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History of Animal Behavior1
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- 6. If a giraffestretched its neck for leaves, for example, a "nervous fluid" would flow into its neck and make it longer. Its offspring would inherit the longer neck, and continued stretching would make it longer still over several generations. Meanwhile organs that organisms stopped using would shrink. Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829)
- 7. Three Principles Principle ofserviceable associated habits: “…whenever the same state of mind is induced, however feebly, there is a tendency through the force of habit and association for the same movements to be performed, though they may not then be of the least use’.” Principle of antithesis: Principle of expressive habits: when a directly opposite state of mind is induced, there is a strong and involuntary tendency to the performance of movements of a directly opposite nature, though these are of no use’ “... that certain actions, which we recognize as expressive of certain states of mind, are the direct result of the constitution of the nervous system, and have been from the first independent of the will, and, to a large extent, of habit....” Charles Darwin (1809 -1882)
- 8. ‘It is however,impossible to decide how much weight ought to be attributed, in each particular case, to one of our principles, and how much to another; and very many points in the theory of expression remain inexplicable’.
- 9. William James 1842-1910 •American Philosopher and Psychologist. •Believed that: •“It is common to distinguish animal behavior from human behavior because animal behavior is based on instinct and human behavior is based on reason” •“It’s not that humans don’t have any instincts, it’s that they have so many of them that they inhibit one another. Our behavior is more finely balanced, more sensitive to subtle changes in the environment, and thus less predictable than animal behavior.”
- 10. Burrhus Frederic Skinner(1904 – 1990) “Behaviorist” Operant conditioning apparatus (i.e. Skinner Box) •From these studies, Skinner came to the conclusion that some form of reinforcement was crucial in learning new behaviors. •Skinner’s proposal of Operant conditioning was based on Edward Thorndike’s (1874 - 1949) experiments with puzzle Boxes and his “Law of Effect”
- 11. Ethology Studying Animal behaviorin their own “language” •Communication •Sexual conduct •Emotions •Etc… •Nikolaas Tinbergen • Konrad Lorenz • Karl von Frisch Joint winners of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. "organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns" For
- 12. Animals, particularly males,are biologically programmed to fight over resources. This behavior must be considered part of natural selection, as aggression leading to death or serious injury may eventually lead to extinction unless it has such a role. Konrad Lorenz (1903 -1989) “On Aggression” (1963)
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- 14. Nikolaas Tinbergen Proximate: Mechanisms ofbehavior Ultimate: Advantages of the behavior •What sensory enrichment focuses on
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- 17. Vision What a bovidseesWhat we see ….So the Bull is going after the motion and not the color RED
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- 19. Touch •Pigmented bumps are associatedwith sensory nerves that allow for a 50ms response time!! •Making Crocodilian jaw lines more sensitive than human fingertips!! Leitch, D. B. and Catania, K. C. (2012). Structure, innervation and response properties of integumentary sensory organs in crocodilians. J. Exp. Biol.215, 4217- 4230.
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Editor's Notes
- #15 4 whys of animal behavior Proximate, Ultimate, Ontogeny (life cycle), How did behavior evolve.
- #22 Why does this behavior make the bovine more fit? Self inoculation to weakened pathogens that were weakened due to the antibiotic properties of the mucosa in the nose. Basically self vaccinating themselves!.... Every behavior has a reason.