Why do animals behave the way they do? This deck of 20 flashcards introduces ethology — the scientific study of animal behaviour — covering both the behaviours themselves and the classic experiments that revealed them. You'll learn the difference between innat...
Why do animals behave the way they do? This deck of 20 flashcards introduces ethology — the scientific study of animal behaviour — covering both the behaviours themselves and the classic experiments that revealed them. You'll learn the difference between innate and learned behaviour, fixed action patterns, and Konrad Lorenz's famous imprinting studies with goslings, alongside classical and operant conditioning (including positive versus negative reinforcement). The deck also covers animal communication methods like the honeybee waggle dance and pheromones, plus social behaviours including territoriality, dominance hierarchies, altruism, kin selection and tool use. Suited to A-Level and AP Biology students studying behavioural ecology, these flashcards use clear, example-driven definitions to help you connect behavioural theory to real animal case studies you're likely to see referenced in exam questions.
Ready to test yourself?
Flip through all 20 cards in interactive study mode.
The scientific study of animal behaviour, especially under natural conditions.
Innate behaviour is genetically programmed and present without prior experience (reflexes, instincts). Learned behaviour develops through experience and can be modified.
An innate, stereotyped sequence of behaviour triggered by a specific stimulus, performed the same way every time regardless of experience.
A rapid, critical-period learning process in which young animals form an attachment to the first moving object they see, typically a parent.
Konrad Lorenz, who demonstrated that goslings would imprint on him if he was the first moving object they encountered after hatching.
A simple form of learning where an animal decreases its response to a repeated, harmless stimulus over time.
Learning through association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus, eventually producing a conditioned response (Pavlov's dogs).
Learning through consequences — behaviours followed by reinforcement increase in frequency, while those followed by punishment decrease.
Positive reinforcement adds a rewarding stimulus to increase behaviour; negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant stimulus to increase behaviour.
A chemical signal released by an animal that triggers a behavioural or physiological response in another member of the same species.
A figure-eight movement used by scout bees to communicate the direction and distance of a food source to the rest of the colony.
Defence of a physical area against intrusion by other individuals, usually to protect resources like food, mates or nesting sites.
Behaviour that benefits another individual at a cost to the performer, such as alarm calls that alert others to predators at the caller's own risk.
A theory explaining altruism as favoured by evolution when it helps close relatives survive and reproduce, thereby indirectly passing on shared genes.
A social ranking system within a group where higher-ranked individuals have priority access to resources and mates.
Seasonal, often long-distance movement between habitats, typically driven by changes in resource availability, temperature or breeding needs.
An internal biological clock regulating behaviours and physiological processes on an approximately 24-hour cycle.
Ritualised behaviours performed to attract a mate and signal fitness, species identity, or readiness to breed.
Learning by observing and imitating others, such as young chimpanzees learning tool use by watching adults.
New Caledonian crows shaping twigs into hooks to extract insect larvae from tree bark.
