Animal Behavior - ACT Biology

The way organisms react to changes in their internal or external environment

Behavior that results from experience. Examples include habituation, associative learning, imprinting, and insight learning/reasoning.

Instinctive behavior that animals are born with, triggered by specific environmental signals. Examples include bird nest-building, mating dances, and instinctive escape behaviors.

Actions and interactions exhibited by animals within a group or community. Examples include cooperation, agonistic behavior, dominance hierarchies, territoriality, and altruism.

Gradual reduction or cessation of response to a repeated stimulus with no positive or negative consequences. Example: Ignoring non-harmful or non-beneficial stimuli.

Linking a stimulus to an event, involving classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Examples include Pavlov's dog experiment (classical conditioning) and reinforcement/punishment (operant conditioning).

Rapid and often irreversible attachment observed in many animal species, particularly during early developmental stages. Example: Newly hatched chicks following and imprinting on the first moving object they encounter.

Problem-solving without trial and error, characterized by sudden understanding. Example: Chimpanzees using tools to obtain food.

Working together to achieve a common goal that benefits the group. Examples include hunting, foraging, raising offspring, and defense against predators.

Social interactions involving conflict or competition between individuals within a species. Examples include aggressive displays, fighting, and submissive behaviors.

Social structures within animal groups where individuals are ranked based on social status or dominance. Example: Alpha and beta animals in a group.

Defending and maintaining a defined area. Example: Marking and defending territory from intruders.

Acting to benefit others at one's own expense. Examples include sharing food, caring for unrelated offspring, and assisting injured group members.