Ch. 34.1

 BEHAVIOR  the way an organism reacts to changes in its internal condition or external environment  Behaviors can be simple or complex depending on the situation  STIMULUS  any kind of signal that carries information and can be detected  RESPONSE  single, specific rxn to the stimulus

 Light, sound, odors, heat  Not every animal can detect these  We can’t hear sounds that bats or dogs can

 Responses vary greatly; animals have different sensory abilities  Body systems all interact as a result of the stimulus  If the animal has a ‘simple’ nervous system, the response will be simple and vice versa  All responses start at the nervous system

 Many behaviors are influenced by genes  Some behaviors can evolve under natural selection  Behaviors that are influenced by genes can help the organism reproduce and survive

 INNATE BEHAVIOR  instinct, inborn behavior  Fully functional from the 1 st time they are performed  Examples?

 Behavior must be flexible enough to deal with uncertainty and change  Altered behavior = learning  Develop over time  HABITUATION  simplest type of learning; process by which an animal decreases or stops its response to a repetitive stimulus that neither rewards or harms the animal

 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING  associating a mental connection with a stimulus and some kind of reward or punishment  PAVLOV’S DOGS  OPERANT CONDITIONING  learns behavior through practice for reward or punishment (trial and error)  SKINNER  INSIGHT LEARNING  most complicated; reasoning  Applies something it has already learned to a new situation

 Most behaviors are a combination of innate ability and learning  IMPRINTING  keeps young animals close to their mothers.  Behavior can’t be changed after imprinting  Involves innate and learned behavior