Question 1

The idea of intellectual continuity among animals was key to the thinking of which of the following individuals?
A) Aristotle
B) Darwin
C) Romanes
D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

All of the above individuals contributed to the idea of intellectual continuity among animals. Aristotle observed various forms of animal behavior and intelligence, Darwin's theory of evolution implies a continuity in the mental faculties between humans and other animals, and Romanes is known for his work in comparative psychology, directly studying animal intelligence and proposing continuity in mental processes across species.

Question 2

Darwin described the behavior of animals by using terms that denote human emotions and feelings, e.g., ants "despaired", dogs expressed "pleasure" and "love", etc. He did this because
A) he considered the minds of humans and animals to be similar in complexity.
B) he considered the minds of humans and animals to be similar in kind and to differ only in complexity.
C) he was an excellent theorist but not a very good scientist.
D) such explanations made his ideas more readily acceptable to the general population.

Accepted Answer

Darwin believed that the minds of humans and animals were similar in kind, differing only in the degree of complexity. This perspective allowed him to use human emotional terms to describe animal behavior, reflecting a continuum rather than a fundamental difference between human and animal minds.

Question 3

George J. Romanes suggested that which of the following emotions appeared, evolutionarily, as early as in the larvae of insects or in segmented worms?
A) jealousy, anger
B) pride, resentment
C) shame, deceit
D) surprise, fear

Accepted Answer

George J. Romanes, a 19th-century evolutionary biologist, proposed that basic emotions like surprise and fear appeared early in the evolutionary timeline, even in simple organisms like insect larvae or segmented worms.

Question 4

An interest in phylogeny (the evolutionary history of a species) is strongly characteristic of the work of
A) Lorenz
B) Skinner
C) Thorndike
D) von Frisch

Accepted Answer

The answer of An interest in phylogeny (the evolutionary history...

Question 5

Knowing that some male empidid flies present females with a meal prior to attempting to mate with them helps us to understand the behavior of Hilara sator, where the male presents an elaborate silken balloon to the female before mating. This illustrates the importance of the
A) anecdotal method
B) comparative method
C) continuity method
D) experimental method

Accepted Answer

The comparative method is used here to understand the behavior of Hilara sator by comparing it with the known behavior of other male empidid flies, illustrating the importance of comparing across species to gain insights into behavioral patterns.

Question 6

Presenting a female empidid fly with a prey item such as an insect, wrapping a prey item in an elaborate cocoon, or presenting an elaborate, but empty, silken balloon all seem to revolve around the fact that
A) a male may easily become a meal rather than a mate for the predacious female.
B) males can demonstrate their potential quality as a mate by presenting a nuptial gift.
C) some female empidid flies are less intelligent than others and don't realize they are being fooled.
D) some female empidid fly species need more protein than others.

Accepted Answer

Male empidid flies present nuptial gifts to females to avoid being eaten by the predacious females during mating.

Question 7

The ethological approach to the study of behavior received significant international recognition when the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1973 to
A) Barlow, Dewsbury, and Hodos.
B) Darwin, Spencer, and Romanes.
C) Loeb, Jennings, and Whitman.
D) Lorenz, Tinbergen, and von Frisch.

Accepted Answer

In 1973, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Konrad Lorenz, Nikolaas Tinbergen, and Karl von Frisch for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns, marking significant recognition for the ethological approach to the study of behavior.

Question 8

Which of the following individuals is more closely associated with ethology than with comparative psychology?
A) Lorenz
B) Pavlov
C) Skinner
D) Thorndike

Accepted Answer

Lorenz is known for his work in ethology, which is the study of animal behavior in natural environments, distinguishing him from the others who are more associated with comparative psychology or behaviorism.

Question 9

A motor response characterized as being stereotyped, elicited by simple but specific environmental stimuli, and continuing to completion even if the eliciting stimulus is removed may safely be classified as a(n)
A) conditioned response.
B) fixed action pattern.
C) releaser.
D) sign stimulus.

Accepted Answer

Fixed action patterns are motor responses that are stereotyped, triggered by specific stimuli, and continue to completion once started, even if the original stimulus is removed. This definition does not fit the criteria for conditioned responses, releasers, or sign stimuli, making option B the correct choice.

Question 10

When a greylag goose retrieves an egg from outside the nest, she extends her neck, places the underside of her bill against the egg's far surface, and bends her neck to bring the egg into the nest with a chin-tucking movement. If the egg veers, she adjusts the position of her bill by moving it from side-to-side to correct the direction of the roll. The chin-tucking motion which moves the egg in the direction of the nest is an example of a:
A) fixed action pattern.
B) reflex arc.
C) sign stimulus.
D) taxis.

Accepted Answer

The chin-tucking motion used by a greylag goose to retrieve an egg is an example of a fixed action pattern. This is a sequence of unlearned acts that is essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, is usually carried to completion. It is a specific behavior in response to a specific stimulus.

Question 11

When a greylag goose retrieves an egg from outside the nest, she extends her neck, places the underside of her bill against the egg's far surface, and bends her neck to bring the egg into the nest with a chin-tucking movement. If the egg veers, she adjusts the position of her bill by moving it from side-to-side to correct the direction of the roll. The side-to-side movements of the head which correct the direction of the roll are called a
A) fixed action pattern.
B) reflex arc.
C) sign stimulus.
D) taxis.

Accepted Answer

Taxis is a movement toward or away from a stimulus. In this case, the goose adjusts its movements to correct the direction of the egg, which is a directed response to a stimulus.

Question 12

When a greylag goose retrieves an egg from outside the nest, she extends her neck, places the underside of her bill against the egg's far surface, and bends her neck to bring the egg into the nest with a chin-tucking movement. If the egg veers, she adjusts the position of her bill by moving it from side-to-side to correct the direction of the roll. If the egg is removed after the goose has begun the retrieval process, what will happen?
A) The goose will continue with the chin-tuck, but the side-to-side movements will disappear.
B) The goose will continue with the side-to-side movements, but the chin-tuck will disappear.
C) The goose will continue with both the chin-tuck and the side-to-side movements.
D) The goose will immediately stop the retrieval behavior altogether.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When a greylag goose retrieves an egg...

Question 13

Whitman and Heinroth each, independently, suggested that some patterns of movement might be just as reliable as morphological characters in defining particular species of birds. This is because
A) each individual bird is a unique combination of hereditary and environmental influences.
B) the displays of all species are often exceptionally similar to one another.
C) the displays within different species are often exceptionally constant.
D) the displays within a species are often quite variable from individual to individual.

Accepted Answer

Whitman and Heinroth observed that the displays within different species of birds are often exceptionally constant, making these behavioral patterns reliable for defining species, similar to morphological characteristics.

Question 14

Barlow (1968) recommended using the term modal action pattern (MAP) rather than fixed action pattern (FAP) because he believed that most patterns of behavior are
A) much more stereotyped than suggested by the notion of the FAP.
B) not as stereotyped as suggested by the notion of the FAP.
C) performed by most of the members of a species, but with a small proportion performing an alternative display.
D) very stereotyped, but a few patterns are much less so.

Accepted Answer

Barlow suggested the term modal action pattern (MAP) instead of fixed action pattern (FAP) because he believed that behaviors are not as stereotyped (rigid and unvarying) as the concept of FAP suggests, indicating a degree of variability in how behaviors are expressed.

Question 15

The individual who suggested using the term modal action pattern (MAP) rather than fixed action pattern (FAP) was
A) Barlow
B) Heinroth
C) Lorenz
D) Whitman

Accepted Answer

Barlow suggested the term modal action pattern (MAP) instead of fixed action pattern (FAP) to emphasize the variability and flexibility in these behaviors rather than their stereotyped, invariant nature.

Question 16

A sign stimulus
A) allows us to tell one species from another.
B) is located in the environment.
C) is located within the individual.
D) is, most often, a very complex combination of stimuli.

Accepted Answer

A sign stimulus is an external cue that triggers a fixed action pattern in an organism, indicating it is located in the environment.

Question 17

A releaser is technically a type of
A) fixed action pattern.
B) innate releasing mechanism.
C) modal action pattern.
D) sign stimulus.

Accepted Answer

A releaser is technically a type of sign stimulus. It is an external sensory stimulus that triggers a specific behavior in an animal. This is distinct from fixed action patterns, innate releasing mechanisms, and modal action patterns, which refer to the behaviors themselves or the mechanisms triggering those behaviors.

Question 18

That a male European robin will attack a tuft of red feathers as readily as he will another male robin indicates that
A) an attack will be produced by almost anything.
B) intruding males and females will be attacked equally often.
C) stimulation of attack behavior requires a complex combination of stimuli.
D) the red feathers serve as a sign stimulus for attack behavior.

Accepted Answer

The male European robin's aggressive response to a tuft of red feathers suggests that the red color acts as a specific trigger or sign stimulus for initiating attack behavior, rather than requiring a complex set of stimuli or indiscriminately attacking anything or any intruder.

Question 19

A situation in which one fixed action pattern brings an animal into a situation that evokes the next fixed action pattern is called a
A) chain of reactions.
B) complex of behaviors.
C) modal stimulus.
D) tropism.

Accepted Answer

A chain of reactions describes a sequence where one fixed action pattern triggers another, leading to a series of behaviors.

Question 20

If a male 3-spined stickleback performs a zig-zag dance, the female is most likely to respond by
A) approaching the male.
B) following the male.
C) performing a head-up posture.
D) releasing gametes.

Accepted Answer

The zig-zag dance is a courtship behavior performed by male sticklebacks to attract females, prompting them to approach.

Quiz 2: Approaches to the Study of Animal Behavior

The idea of intellectual continuity among animals was key to the thinking of which of the following individuals?

Darwin described the behavior of animals by using terms that denote human emotions and feelings, e.g., ants "despaired", dogs expressed "pleasure" and "love", etc. He did this because

George J. Romanes suggested that which of the following emotions appeared, evolutionarily, as early as in the larvae of insects or in segmented worms?

An interest in phylogeny (the evolutionary history of a species) is strongly characteristic of the work of

Knowing that some male empidid flies present females with a meal prior to attempting to mate with them helps us to understand the behavior of Hilara sator, where the male presents an elaborate silken balloon to the female before mating. This illustrates the importance of the

Presenting a female empidid fly with a prey item such as an insect, wrapping a prey item in an elaborate cocoon, or presenting an elaborate, but empty, silken balloon all seem to revolve around the fact that

The ethological approach to the study of behavior received significant international recognition when the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1973 to

Which of the following individuals is more closely associated with ethology than with comparative psychology?

A motor response characterized as being stereotyped, elicited by simple but specific environmental stimuli, and continuing to completion even if the eliciting stimulus is removed may safely be classified as a(n)

Whitman and Heinroth each, independently, suggested that some patterns of movement might be just as reliable as morphological characters in defining particular species of birds. This is because

Barlow (1968) recommended using the term modal action pattern (MAP) rather than fixed action pattern (FAP) because he believed that most patterns of behavior are

The individual who suggested using the term modal action pattern (MAP) rather than fixed action pattern (FAP) was

A sign stimulus

A releaser is technically a type of

That a male European robin will attack a tuft of red feathers as readily as he will another male robin indicates that

A situation in which one fixed action pattern brings an animal into a situation that evokes the next fixed action pattern is called a

If a male 3-spined stickleback performs a zig-zag dance, the female is most likely to respond by