Deck 8: The Development of Behavior

Question 1

Questions such as: what role do visual, auditory, or social stimuli play in the emergence of a behavior? or, what happens when a behavior ceases to be part of the individual's behavioral repertoire? or, does a particular behavior always proceed in a predictable and reliable fashion among individuals in the species? are examples of which of Niko Tinbergen's four main types of questions that should be asked about behavior?

A) development.
B) evolution.
C) mechanism.
D) survival value.

Answer 1

development.

Question 2

Which of the following pairings accurately reflects the behavioral and neural embryonic development of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)?

A) coordinated movement of fins and jaw; development of sensory system of trunk
B) first undulating movements associated with swimming; development of sensory system of trunk
C) initial movements in heart and dorsal muscles; prior to nervous system formation
D) moves in response to tactile stimulation; prior to nervous system formation

Answer 2

initial movements in heart and dorsal muscles; prior to nervous system formation

Question 3

The disappearance of crawling behavior in the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) is the result of

A) a sharp reduction in ecdysteroid hormones in the adult stage.
B) degeneration of the proleg leg muscles just before the pupal stage.
C) replacement of existing neurons by new neurons that support a more sophisticated style of locomotion in the pupal stage.
D) the innervation of proleg retractor muscles in the larva.

Answer 3

degeneration of the proleg leg muscles just before the pupal stage.

Question 4

What does happen "when you put a chicken back into an egg?" as did Bekoff and Kauer (1984)?

A) Chicks of all ages produced the normal movements associated with hatching.
B) None of the chicks produced the normal movements associated with hatching.
C) The older chicks died.
D) The younger chicks died.

Question 5

The disappearance of the proleg behaviors in the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) and the disappearance of leg movements associated with hatching in the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus) differ from one another in that

A) the loss in hornworms is due to a sudden drop in hormones, while in chickens it is due to degeneration resulting from disuse.
B) the loss in hornworms is due to degeneration resulting from disuse, while in chickens it is due to a sudden drop in hormones.
C) the loss in hornworms is due to modification to serve other patterns of behavior, while in chickens it is due to the dismantling of the underlying neural circuitry.
D) the loss in hornworms is due to the dismantling of the underlying neural circuitry, while in chickens it is modified to serve other patterns of behavior.

Question 6

When house mouse adult females are compared with one another on the basis of their fetal intrauterine positions, adult 2M females (female fetuses who had been nestled between two male fetuses), when compared with 0M females (female fetuses who had not been next to a male),

A) are less aggressive to female intruders.
B) are more attractive to males.
C) experience their first estrus at a later age.
D) mark a novel environment at a lower rate.

Question 7

While developing within its egg, a bird is exposed to androgens deposited into the yolk by its mother while the egg formed in her ovaries. First-laid eggs have the lowest androgen levels, with levels increasing with each egg laid; thus, first-laid eggs can be used in experimental manipulations. When black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) from an experimental group (birds hatched from first-laid eggs injected with androgens and sesame oil) were compared with those from a control group (those hatched from first-laid eggs injected only with sesame oil), the experimental birds exhibited

A) delayed hatching.
B) depressed rates of begging for food.
C) suppressed growth.
D) suppressed immune function.

Question 8

Deposition of increasing levels of yolk androgens may be a way for mothers to adjust the developmental trajectories of their offspring to current environmental conditions. In black-headed gulls, for example, this might

A) occur because chicks hatch in synchrony, and are thus highly competitive.
B) occur because chicks that hatch last are typically larger than their older siblings.
C) serve to enhance the growth and competitiveness of chicks that hatch last.
D) serve to maintain the advantages of being the last to hatch.

Question 9

In the case of the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius), a characteristic of the environment during incubation that has been found to have a profound effect not only on sex determination but on the adult's later choice in mates is

A) ambient light.
B) humidity.
C) magnetic field.
D) temperature.

Question 10

Differences in postnatal environment, such as being reared in an enriched environment as opposed to a less complex one, can produce differences in

A) brain weight and size.
B) number of neurons in the brain.
C) number of synapses in the brain.
D) all of the above.

Question 11

Nonhuman primates living in settings characterized as lacking physical and social complexity often develop abnormal or stereotypic behaviors. The current preferred method for treating such behavior problems is

A) classical conditioning.
B) environment enrichment.
C) mild sedation.
D) removing the affected animal from the stresses of group living.

Question 12

Play is probably best viewed as

A) a broad category that includes many types of behavior.
B) a single type of behavior serving multiple functions.
C) a single type of behavior with one underlying function.
D) not a valid category of behavior, since it includes many different phenomena.

Question 13

A behavior known as stone handling, performed by some adult Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), is believed to be most closely related to which of the following hypothesized functions of play behavior?

A) cognitive
B) physical
C) social
D) all of the above

Question 14

Which of the following would have been part of the definition of a "critical period" as originally defined by Konrad Lorenz? That the critical period was a phase of an animal's development that

A) differed in duration among species.
B) produced irreversible effects.
C) was fairly extended.
D) was gradual in onset and termination.

Question 15

The more recent term "sensitive period" has largely replaced Lorenz's earlier term "critical period". This is because the newer term reflects the results of recent research suggesting that the developmental periods being described

A) are brief.
B) are gradual in onset and termination.
C) are well-defined.
D) produce irreversible effects.

Question 16

Before their migration to the sea and during a sensitive period, juvenile Atlantic salmon learn

A) the characteristics of an appropriate future mate.
B) the communication signals typical of their species.
C) the odor of the water at the site where they were spawned.
D) to recognize conspecifics.

Question 17

"Imprinting" is a translation of Lorenz's original term Pragung and describes

A) a particular type of markings that help an individual be identified by others of the same species.
B) learning that occurs after careful, repetitive exposure to a stimulus by the parent.
C) learning that occurs following an event that is too important to forget.
D) the rapid development of a strong preference for a particular type of stimulus present during a short sensitive period of development.

Question 18

In order for Peking ducklings to develop an appropriate following response, Gottlieb and coworkers demonstrated that they must

A) be reared in isolation so that they are not exposed to conflicting stimuli.
B) hear calls typical of another species, such as a chicken, to acquire appropriate discriminations.
C) hear their own or their siblings' contentment calls after hatching.
D) hear their own or their siblings' contentment calls before hatching.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about filial imprinting and sexual imprinting is TRUE?

A) Evidence for sexual imprinting has been found only in precocial, as opposed to altricial, birds.
B) Filial imprinting is demonstrated by the mate preferences of sexually mature birds.
C) Filial imprinting results in a young animal becoming attached to its mother.
D) Sexual imprinting generally occurs before filial imprinting, though the sensitive periods may overlap.

Question 20

In a study by Bateson (1983), Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were reared with siblings and later tested for mate preference from among five types: (1) familiar sibling, (2) novel sibling, (3) novel first cousin, (4) novel third cousin, or (5) novel unrelated individual. Both male and female quail subjects preferred individuals who had characteristics that were

A) slightly displaced from immediate family members.
B) very different from immediate family members.
C) very similar to immediate family members.
D) Their preferences were evenly distributed among the five groups.

Question 21

If you have performed a cross-fostering experiment, you would have evidence that sexual imprinting had occurred if the subject later displayed a mating preference for

A) a same sex individual from the conspecific species.
B) a same sex individual from the host species.
C) an opposite sex individual from the conspecific species.
D) an opposite sex individual from the host species.

Question 22

Field experiments with free-living birds, such as those conducted by Slagsvold and coworkers, indicate that species vary in their sensitivity to sexual imprinting. It has been suggested that sensitivity to sexual imprinting may be decreased in species that are

A) highly social.
B) monogamous.
C) solitary.
D) all of the above.

Question 23

Evidence for sexual imprinting has been found in mammals as well as birds, for example in studies conducted by Kendrick and colleagues with sheep and goats. What physical characteristics do these animals seem to be attending to as they develop their preferences?

A) coat texture
B) facial features
C) individual odors
D) vocal characteristics

Question 24

Maternal attachment differs from filial imprinting in that maternal attachment

A) has a sensitive period with more gradual onset and termination.
B) is due almost entirely to endogenous factors.
C) occurs in adult animals.
D) produces effects that are more easily reversed.

Question 25

The sensitive period for development of maternal selectivity extends from parturition to perhaps 1 or 2 hours postpartum. Thus, this sensitive period appears to

A) coincide with the sensitive period for maternal responsiveness.
B) lie within the sensitive period for maternal responsiveness.
C) occur after the sensitive period for maternal responsiveness.
D) occur prior to the sensitive period for maternal responsiveness.

Question 26

Champalbert and Lachaud's 1990 study that examined the effects of a 10-day period of social isolation on behavioral development in worker Neotropical ants (Ectatomma tuberculatum) showed that

A) control group ants typically remain at a single task throughout their development rather than undergoing changes in behavioral specialization.
B) the behavioral development of workers isolated either at emergence or at 4 or 8 days later was significantly more disrupted than that of workers isolated at 2 days.
C) when developmental disruptions occurred they revolved primarily around the task of nest guarding.
D) workers isolated at 2 days after emergence showed the most abnormal behavioral development.

Question 27

Champalbert and Lachaud concluded from their 1990 experiment with E. tuberculatum worker ants that the reintroduction of workers after having been isolated at emergence mimics an emergence and delays closure of the sensitive period for social contact with colony members. This provides additional support for the need for change in Lorenz's original definition of "critical period" in the area of

A) brevity.
B) consistency across individuals.
C) production of irreversible effect.
D) well-defined onset and termination.

Question 28

Zebra finches display sex differences in both organization of song nuclei in the brain and in singing behavior. This appears to be the result of both the organizational and the activational effects of hormones in that

A) estrogen early in life organizes the development of a female song system, and testoserone in adulthood stimulates song production.
B) estrogen early in life organizes the development of a male song system, and testoserone in adulthood stimulates song production.
C) testosterone early in life organizes the development of a female song system, and estrogen in adulthood stimulates song production.
D) testosterone early in life organizes the development of a male song system, and estrogen in adulthood stimulates song production.

Question 29

Research suggests that song development in sparrows consists of two phases: a sensory phase and a sensorimotor phase. During the sensory phase,

A) sounds heard early in life are stored in memory.
B) the bird begins to crystallize his song pattern.
C) the bird is about seven or eight months of age.
D) the bird retrieves a learned song from memory and begins to rehearse it.

Question 30

Research suggests that song development in sparrows consists of two phases: a sensory phase and a sensorimotor phase. During the sensorimotor phase, a male bird

A) does not yet rehearse songs he has heard.
B) learns songs and stores them in memory.
C) produces only subsong.
D) rehearses a song and matches it to sounds he memorized earlier.

Question 31

As young male song sparrows move from the plastic phase of song to the crystallized phase, they sometimes drop songs from their plastic song repertoire.

A) 8-10 songs may be dropped, leaving the bird with a crystallized repertoire of 1-3 songs.
B) Degree of song sharing with neighboring birds tends to be negatively correlated with male survival.
C) Dropped songs tend to match the songs of neighboring males less well than do retained songs.
D) Songs tend to be dropped randomly, thus neighboring birds end up having a distinctive repertoire.

Question 32

You would have a higher probability of being able to sing your species song at sexual maturity without having heard it during the earliest stages of your life if you were a

A) canary.
B) brown-headed cowbird.
C) white-crowned sparrow.
D) zebra finch.

Question 33

When young male white-crowned sparrows were tutored with tape recordings of songs of both song sparrows and white-crowned sparrows, they

A) acquired no song at all.
B) copied only the songs of song sparrows.
C) copied only the songs of their own species.
D) learned all the songs equally well.

Question 34

The songs of male cowbirds reared in isolation from male conspecifics are substantially more appealing to female cowbirds than are the songs of males reared in groups. Additional observation revealed that when they were individually introduced into an aviary with an established colony of cowbirds,

A) group reared males had a more rapid rate of song development than isolates.
B) group reared males were attacked and sometimes killed by resident dominant males.
C) isolate males kept a low profile in their new environment and, thus, came into contact with females more frequently.
D) isolate males repeatedly sang high-potency songs in the presence of dominant males.

Question 35

The songs of male cowbirds reared in isolation from male conspecifics were substantially more appealing to female cowbirds than were the songs of normal males. Why were their songs believed to be more potent than those of the group reared males?

A) Group reared males learned a slightly more confused version of the song than did isolates.
B) Group reared males sang high potency songs and were frequently killed, leaving only the isolates to sing.
C) The isolates had not yet discarded the extra songs from an overproduced repertoire.
D) The isolates had not yet learned to modulate the potency of their songs in the presence of dominant males.

Question 36

A male songbird's eventual song repertoire may be influenced by

A) direct social intereaction with conspecific males.
B) eavesdropping on the interactions of other conspecific males.
C) selective responses by conspecific females.
D) all of the above.

Question 37

Reimers and colleagues (2007) studied 13 male chimpanzees who had experienced profound social isolation and found that, even two decades or more later, they could recover and live less stressful lives with conspecifics. This capacity for resiliency is referred to as

A) developmental homeostatis.
B) early deprivation effects.
C) own-species bias.
D) rehabilitative buffering.