Deck 30: Animal Behavior

Question 1

In a laboratory, a mouse runs a maze faster on the third try and even faster on the fifth try. Which of the following describes best what has taken place?

A) The mouse has doubly imprinted the maze.
B) The mouse has first learned the maze and then established its pattern in a fixed behavior.
C) The mouse has learned more about the maze on each trial.
D) The mouse learned the maze on the first three tries and then imprinted what it learned on the fourth try.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following does not describe a learned behavior?

A) a laboratory monkey lifting blocks to find the piece of food hidden under one
B) sea turtles moving toward the ocean immediately after hatching
C) a cat coming to be fed after hearing the sound of a can opener
D) a mother releasing milk in response to a baby's cry rather than to the baby's attempts to nurse

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Female frogs deposit their eggs in water and then often leave the area, saving energy by not having to raise their young. Based on this information, should you expect the species-specific frog calls to be a learned or a fixed behavior?

A) They are learned, because the young frogs can learn calls from each other.
B) They are learned, because all frog calls must be learned from adults of the species.
C) They are fixed, because all vocalizations are behaviors that animals are born with.
D) They are fixed, because the young frogs are not raised by adults that teach the young their specific call.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following statements about learned behaviors is true?

A) Learned behaviors provide animals with flexible responses.
B) Learned behaviors are not influenced by an organism's surroundings.
C) Learned behaviors are totally under genetic control.
D) Learned behaviors develop only when an animal interacts with another animal.

Question 5

Male mice "record" the odor of their siblings during the first three weeks of life. When these mice reach sexual maturity, they avoid mating with their siblings. This is an example of

A) fixed behavior.
B) imprinting.
C) conditioning.
D) altruism.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about fixed behaviors is false?

A) The behavior occurs in all situations and conditions.
B) The behavior allows an appropriate response even when the organism has not had a chance to learn by experience.
C) The occurrence of the behavior may depend on hormonal levels.
D) The occurrence of the behavior may be influenced by the organism's environment.

Question 7

Pit bulls don't have the same behavior patterns as collies. The differences are

A) genetically based behaviors.
B) imprinted behaviors.
C) learned behaviors.
D) fixed behaviors.

Question 8

When you see a speed limit sign, you control your speed according to the "rule." This is an example of

A) fixed behavior.
B) genetically controlled behavior.
C) behavior affected by hormones.
D) learned behavior.

Question 9

When a mother nurses her child for the first time, the sucking of the infant stimulates the release of milk. Within a few weeks of birth, the cry of the infant stimulates the same response. Which of these is a fixed behavior?

A) releasing milk in response to sucking
B) releasing milk in response to crying
C) both behaviors
D) neither behavior

Question 10

Sharks are drawn to blood in the water, because they

A) have learned that blood in the water means that food is located nearby.
B) have a fixed response to chemicals in blood.
C) have imprinted that blood in the water means that food is located nearby.
D) have a social response to blood in the water.

Question 11

Examine the graph below.
According to this graph, a gosling is most likely to ________ about 15 hours after hatching.

A) develop a sense of who its parent is
B) learn new a mating call
C) react to a releaser
D) exhibit the grasp reflex

Question 12

Some organisms do not actively raise their young. Other animals have a period during which the young are part of a family unit. Which of the following is the best description of the results of these two styles of behavior?

A) The absence or presence of parents has no effect on the type of behavior exhibited by their young.
B) The organisms that are part of a family unit will exhibit fewer behaviors than those that are not raised by parents.
C) The organisms that are not raised by their parents will rely more heavily on fixed behaviors when young.
D) The organisms that are not raised by their parents will rely more heavily on learned behaviors when young.

Question 13

When a dog sits in response to a command from a human, the dog is exhibiting a(n)

A) genetic behavior.
B) fixed behavior.
C) learned behavior.
D) orientation behavior.

Question 14

Human culture is not a result of

A) fixed behavior.
B) learned behavior.
C) communication.
D) social behavior.

Question 15

Which of the following statements about fixed behaviors is true?

A) A given stimulus can have a variety of responses.
B) A given stimulus leads predictably to a specific response.
C) No stimuli will be responded to at all.
D) Fixed behaviors are not influenced by genes.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about behavior is false?

A) It allows organisms to respond quickly to their changing environments.
B) It allows organisms to respond without using either their senses or motion.
C) It allows organisms to respond flexibly to their changing environments.
D) It allows organisms to coordinate their own activities with those of other organisms.

Question 17

Which of the following statements about genetically controlled behaviors is true?

A) Identical twins are more likely to express the same behavior than other sets of siblings are.
B) Identical twins will always express the same behavior.
C) The environment has no effect on the expression of the behavior.
D) Genetics has no effect on the expression of the behavior.

Question 18

Flies are most likely attracted in great numbers to decaying meat, because they

A) have learned the rewards of responding to specific smells.
B) are social animals.
C) know that they are safer from predators by congregating in groups.
D) have a fixed behavioral response to certain smells.

Question 19

Which sorts of behaviors, if any, offer an organism the best chance of survival?

A) only fixed behaviors
B) only learned behaviors
C) both fixed and learned behaviors
D) Behavior has no effect on an organism's ability to survive.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about behaviors is true?

A) All fixed behaviors are more useful than learned behaviors.
B) All learned behaviors are more useful than fixed behaviors.
C) Learned behaviors occur only in humans.
D) Many animals use both fixed and learned behaviors.

Question 21

A soldier termite defends its colony against a predator and dies in the effort. It has not exhibited

A) fixed behavior.
B) social behavior.
C) altruistic behavior.
D) learned behavior.

Question 22

Fruit flies are either "rovers" that move rapidly over a surface looking for food or "sitters" that move slowly over a surface. When a rover and a sitter are mated, all of the offspring are rovers. When two of these offspring are mated, 75 percent of the offspring are rovers and 25 percent of the offspring are sitters. This suggests that

A) fruit flies are very efficient at learning how to forage food from their parents.
B) food foraging behavior in fruit flies is regulated by a gene.
C) food foraging is an imprinted behavior.
D) food foraging is a form of communication.

Question 23

Which of the following choices is not a method of communication?

A) human language
B) learning
C) visual signals
D) scent marking

Question 24

An advertisement that utilizes images of pizza takes advantage of ________ that plays a large role in purchasing decisions.

A) a fixed behavior
B) a learned response
C) the imprinting
D) the sensation of hunger, rather than a learned behavior

Question 25

Herring gull chicks beg for food when they see a red dot, whether it is on their parent's beak or on an odd-shaped model. This begging is an example of a _______ behavior.

Question 26

Which of the following does not reflect a biological benefit of animal communication?

A) to learn fixed behaviors
B) to avoid conflict
C) to identify themselves
D) to identify potential mates

Question 27

In the waggle dance of honeybees the number of "waggles" indicates

A) the richness of the food source.
B) the distance to the food source.
C) the direction to the food.
D) both the richness and direction of the food source.

Question 28

Animals exhibit more behaviors than the organisms in other kingdoms because they have a more complex ________ system.

Question 29

A _______ is an action made by one organism in response to other organisms or to the physical environment.

Question 30

If an animal accidentally steps on a mound of fire ants, it will have hundreds of stinging ants crawling far up its leg almost instantaneously. The ant colony's quick response is most likely due to pheromones from

A) disturbed ants initiating learned group behavior.
B) the animal initiating imprinted "quick response" ant behavior.
C) disturbed ants initiating fixed behavior.
D) both the animal and ants initiating fixed behavior.

Question 31

Which of the following examples does not illustrate an advantage gained by communication?

A) Animals can resolve territory conflicts without physically fighting.
B) Bees are able to tell their nest-mates where to find a good food source.
C) Young deer hide well from predators because the spots on their fur coat blend into the environment.
D) Wolves are able to coordinate their activities during a hunt.

Question 32

If you decided to take this course based on talking to other people, you were

A) taking advantage of social behavior.
B) imprinting based on communication.
C) responding to fixed behavior of others.
D) being altruistic.

Question 33

Which of the following statements about group living is false?

A) By working together, members of a group can use foods that are not available to individuals.
B) Organisms that live in groups are less likely to be altruistic than organisms that live as individuals.
C) Groups can stir up prey more effectively than individuals can.
D) Organisms that live in groups have an advantage when it comes to avoiding predators.

Question 34

Which of the following statements about organisms that live in groups is true?

A) Organisms that live in groups are the only organisms that communicate.
B) Organisms that live in groups do not have fixed behaviors.
C) Living in groups sometimes gives organisms access to scarce resources.
D) Living in groups makes organisms less likely to cooperate in gathering resources.

Question 35

A honeybee gives up its life when it stings to protect the hive. This is an example of

A) fixed behavior.
B) imprinting.
C) altruistic behavior.
D) learned behavior.

Question 36

In _______ behaviors, the response to a stimulus depends on past experiences.

Question 37

When someone has learned a poem by heart

A) a learning behavior has become a fixed behavior.
B) the poem has become a releaser.
C) communication has been part of a learning behavior.
D) the poem has become both fixed and habituated.

Question 38

In the waggle dance of the honeybee the angle of the "waggle" relative to up and down indicates

A) the direction to the food source.
B) the richness of the food source.
C) the type of food at the source.
D) the distance to the food source.

Question 39

A SWAT team and hostage negotiators working together is an example of

A) altruistic behavior.
B) learned behavior.
C) fixed behavior.
D) imprinted behavior.

Question 40

When you type an email address you are engaging in a

A) fixed behavior.
B) reflex behavior.
C) learned behavior.
D) imprinted behavior

Question 41

Reading this question involves communication only at the level of fixed behaviors.

Question 42

The consumption of ________ both alters our behavior and decreases our ability to regulate behavior

Question 43

An organism that exhibits _______ behavior helps other members of the group survive or reproduce while decreasing its own chances of doing so.

Question 44

_______ is the production of signals by one organism that stimulate a response in another organism.

Question 45

For some species, aiding in the rearing of siblings in a group rather than reproducing on your own is the best way to ensure that an individual's genes are passed on to the next generation.

Question 46

Since genes can have an influence on behaviors, it is possible for behaviors to _______.

Question 47

Lending a friend money when you don't have much money to spare is being __________.

Question 48

Based on the data presented in the graph below, begging in response to a red dot is a learned behavior.

Question 49

For a gosling, ________ means forming an image of who is a parent early in life.

Question 50

The release of chemicals called _______ by one individual helps other individuals identify and locate that individual.

Question 51

Genes can influence the ability of an organism to learn.

Question 52

Animals that live in groups do not have fixed behaviors.

Question 53

Fixed behaviors allow a more flexible response to a given situation than learned behaviors do.

Question 54

Imprinted behaviors are fixed behaviors.

Question 55

A worker ant that defends the colony and gives up the ability to reproduce is exhibiting an orientation behavior.

Question 56

Since a frog has a more complex nervous system then a slug, the behaviors of a frog should be more complex than those of a slug.

Question 57

The data in the graph below demonstrate that genetics rather than environment determine whether people exhibit schizophrenia.

Question 58

Male red-breasted robins defend their territories against other males by physically attacking them. The fact that a male robin will attack a clump of red feathers within its territory suggests that red feathers are a __________ that stimulates a fixed behavior

Question 59

Fixed behaviors are learned.

Question 60

Fixed behaviors evolve when the survival risks of exhibiting a wrong behavior are great.

Question 61

Playing, although energetically costly, is a form of learning.