Download 5.4.3 Animal Behaviour

OCR A2 UNIT F215 ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
Specification Content:

Explain the advantages to organisms of innate behaviour

Describe escape reflexes, taxes and kineses as examples of genetically
determined innate behaviours

Explain the meaning of the term learned behaviour

Describe habituation, imprinting, classical and operant conditioning, latent and
insight learning as examples of learned behaviours

Describe using one example, the advantages of social behaviour in primates

Discuss how the links between a range of human behaviours and the dopamine
receptor DRD4 may contribute to the understanding of human behaviour
Definition of Animal Behaviour:
The responses of an animal to its environment that increase its chances of survival
TYPES OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
INNATE BEHAVIOUR
LEARNED BEHAVIOUR
Escape reflexes
Habituation
Taxes
imprinting
Kineses
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Latent learning
Insight learning
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Features of Innate/Instinctive Behaviour

Genetically inherited response to a stimulus

Stereotypical. This means that the response is the same in all members of the species

Automatic. These responses require no previous experience and are not learned

Rigid and inflexible response. This means that the response is the same in all members of the
species

Innate behaviour patterns only survive if they offer an advantage to the species (natural
selection)
Which animals show innate behaviour?
All animals including humans show innate behaviour. It is very important in invertebrates
Advantages of Innate Behaviour for Survival

Innate responses are rapid and automatic

They only require a simple nervous system

They are important in species such as invertebrates that have a short lifespan – there is
insufficient time for them to learn survival skills

They are also important in species with no parental care and those with solitary lifestyles
Innate behavioural patterns enable some animals to:

Escape predators

Locate and stay in a suitable habitat

Find food or a mate
Some Examples of Innate Behaviour – three types as tabulated below
Escape Reflexes
Examples of
Escape Reflexes
Stimulus
Response
Advantage of
Response
Withdrawal reflex
from a hot object
(humans)
Touching a hot
object
Prevents serious
burn injury to the
person
Escape reflex of
earthworms
Soil vibrations such
as an animal walking
on or digging the soil
Rapid and automatic
removal of the body
part from the hot
object
Earthworm moves in
the soil, further away
from the vibrations
To avoid
predation
Taxes (singular = taxis) – taxes are directional orientation responses
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Examples of
Taxes
Directional
Stimulus
Response
Advantage of
Response
Negative phototaxis
of maggots
Light
Maggots move in the
direction away from
light
Positive chemotaxis
of a nematode worm
(these worms have
chemoreceptors in
their lips)
The chemicals of
food
The nematodes
move in the direction
towards the
chemicals
To keep the
animal in a
suitable
environment (the
dark) in order to
avoid predation
To find food
Kineses (singular = kinesis) – kineses are non-directional orientation responses
Example of
Kinesis
Non-directional
Stimuli
Response
Advantage of
Response
Response of
woodlice to light or
dry environment
Light or dry
conditions
Woodlice move
rapidly but randomly
seeking dark and
damp conditions.
Their movement is
non-directional.
The rate of these
movements
depends upon the
intensity of the
stimuli
To avoid predation
and prevent drying
out (woodlice
breathe by gills that
need a moist gas
exchange surface)
More Complex Innate Behaviours – the waggle dance of the worker honey bees
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Worker honey bees carry out a waggle dance when they return to the bee hive, after finding a nectar
food source. The dance is a communication to other worker honey bees of the location of the food.
The angle of the waggle part of the dance to the vertical represents the direction of the food source.
The duration of the waggle part of the dance indicates the distance of the food source. (see page 241
in A2 textbook)
Examination Question on Behaviour
Breeders of Colourpoint Persian cats are advised to be present at the birth of the kittens. In this breed,
the mother cat may not perform essential maternal behaviour such as licking the newborn kitten to free
it from the amniotic sac.
Wildcat mothers even when they are first-time mothers, perform this behaviour naturally
1. State the type of behaviour shown by these wild-cat mothers
Type of behaviour……………………………………………………..
Characteristic ………………………………………………………….
2. Over time, the frequency of domestic cat mothers who perform essential maternal behaviour,
such as licking the newborn kitten, has decreased
Suggest and explain a reason for this change in frequency over time
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………….
Features of Learned Behaviour

Animal behaviour that is learnt and changed by past experience. It is learnt from an animal’s
parents and by watching others
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
Variable behaviour. There is much variation between different members of the same species or
in one animal at different times as the behaviour is modified with experience

Learned behaviour is memorised and reinforced with practice
General Advantages of Learned Behaviour

Learned behaviour enables an animal to adapt to changes in the environment
Types of Learned Behaviours
1. Habituation
If a stimulus is repeated and is harmless, the animal learns to ignore it. . It is the simplest form of
learning
Examples of Habituation:

Opening an umbrella in front of a young calf will cause it to flinch and move away. After
repeated stimulation, the response lessens and eventually stops – the calf then ignores the
stimulus

Birds learn to ignore scarecrows

Humans screen out non-dangerous stimuli such as wind and waves

Humans living next to a busy road will have difficulty sleeping because of the noisy traffic. This
response lessens over time as the humans learn to sleep without constant disturbance
Advantage of Habituation
To conserve energy - habituation prevents an animal from wasting energy by not escaping from nonharmful stimuli
2. Imprinting
During a sensitive period (or receptive period) in an animals life, the animal learns the features of its
parent and thereafter associates with the parent. The sensitive period is usually after birth or hatching.
Imprinting is a behaviour shown by human babies and young birds
Konrad Lorenz showed that goslings follow the first moving thing that they see on hatching.
Thereafter, they will only follow and learn from things that look just like the first thing they experienced.
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Advantage of Imprinting
Access care - imprinting enables young animals to be looked after by their parents
3. Classical Conditioning
This is where animals can learn to relate a pair of events and respond to the first in anticipation of the
second. In classical conditioning there are two stimuli
Classical conditioning was described by Ivan Pavlov who was investigating salivation in dogs. He rang
a bell when providing food to the dogs. The dogs salivated at the sight and smell of the food. They
soon associated the bell ringing with the food, and salivated even when the bell rung and no food was
given. A summary of the stimuli and responses is tabulated below.
Stimulus
Sight or smell of food - the
unconditioned stimulus
Response
Salivation – the production of saliva by the salivary
glands - the unconditioned response
Sound of bell ringing –the
conditioned stimulus
Salivation - the conditioned response
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Advantage of Classical Conditioning
Since the example of Pavlov’s dogs is experimental, an advantage cannot be given
Another Example of Classical Conditioning
The training of guide dogs for the blind involves classical conditioning. When a guide dog is taking his
blind companion across a road at a pedestrian crossing, the dog is trained to wait on the path until the
sound signal indicates that the traffic has stopped and it is safe to cross.
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The advantage of this conditioning is that the dog can safely guide his blind companion across the
road
4. Operant Conditioning
This is where an animal learns to carry out a response so as to receive a reward or to avoid an
unpleasant experience, such as a mild electric shock.
This conditioning was studied by B.F.Skinner who devised Skinner boxes in which rats or pigeons
move around. The animal in the box accidently (at first) presses a lever and receives some food. The
animals learnt to associate an operation (hence operant conditioning) with a reward. If pressing the
lever induced an electric shock – a punishment – the animal again learnt this association.
The rewards/punishments are often referred to as re-inforcers.
Operant conditioning is also described as trial and error learning or associative learning.
The repeated success of the operation brings about the reinforcement of the association between
the operation and the response – there is reinforcement in operant conditioning
Other examples of operant conditioning
The training of dogs and other animals (including humans) is based on a reward for successful
outcome of the training process.
A dog can be trained to beg by receiving a food reward when this behaviour is carried out as required
by the dog owner. As the dog learns the association of a reward with the begging operation, its
begging behaviour increases
Advantage of operant conditioning
Animals learn how to access food or some other reward or how to avoid an unpleasant experience
Experimental Controls
Skinner would have used controls in his experiments to show that the animal learned that carrying out
an operation resulted in a reward
In the case of the rat/pigeon experiments, he would have controlled the experimental variables:

used the same experimental box

used an animal of the same species, age and gender

kept all experimental conditions the same eg the same environmental temperature

animals fasted before the trials to ensure that they are hungry
The difference would be that carrying out the operation (pressing the lever) would not result in a
reward.
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For the control there would be no pattern in the times of pressing the lever. This operation would
occur randomly
5. Latent Learning
Animals explore and learn details of their surroundings that could be useful in the future.
Young rabbits explore the environment around their burrows.
Advantage to the rabbits:
At some future time, this information will be vital for the rabbits to escape predators
6. Insight Learning
Insight learning is the highest form of learning and is based on the ability to think and reason in order
to solve problems. Once solved, the solution is remembered.
Animals integrate past experiences to show a new piece of behaviour.
Kohler studied chimpanzees in captivity in the Canary Islands. He gave them boxes to play with.
They used them to reach bananas. When the bananas were hung a long way above them, they
stacked the boxes to reach them.
Latent learning probably played a part in this behaviour. The chimpanzees played with the boxes
before the bananas were offered, and had learned the stacking technique previously.
Advantage of insight learning to the chimpanzees:
Enables the chimpanzees to access food
Social Behaviour in Primates

Primates are mammals and include apes, monkeys and lemurs

Most primates live in family groups where the young remain until they reach sexual maturity (12
years in chimpanzees)

The family group shows a hierarchy where individuals have a place in the order of importance
within the group. This leads to social control which protects all group members.
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Social Organisation of Gorillas

Mountain gorillas live in stable groups called a troop of around 10 individuals

One mature male is at the top of the hierarchy – the Silverback. He protects several adult
females in the troop and their offspring

The Silverback mates with all the adult females and leads the troop in search of food

As younger males mature they leave the troop and seek other females. Younger females either
remain or join another group
Social Behaviour of Gorillas

Grooming is an important social activity. Each individual picks out the parasites from the fur of
another, reducing disease and parasite infection. This reinforces the bonds between individuals

There is an extensive period of care for gorilla offspring. Each mother suckles her offspring and
remains in very close contact with her young for up to a year. She protects the young gorilla as
it learns the social skills to live independently.

Juvenile gorillas from about 2 years play together and imitate adult behaviour

The Silverback is also important in the development of its offspring from 3 to 6 years as it
protects them from older males in the troop and teaches them new skills such as the use of
tools

Gorillas communicate through calls, displays and grunts. These communications are used::
1. To threaten predators
2. To warn other troop members of danger
3. In play fighting as juveniles learn how to behave as adults

Facial expressions are also used for communication and recognition of other troop members
The Advantages of Social Behaviour in Primates

The maternal care and group protection of offspring increases the survival rate of the young

Learned behaviour increases the survival rate. The young learn through observation and play
with other troop members

The group has knowledge of and protects food sources

Members of the group work together to detect and frighten off predators
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