During a field trip, an instructor touched a moth resting on a tree trunk. The moth raised its
forewings to reveal large eyespots on its hind wings. The instructor asked why the moth
lifted its wings. One student answered that sensory receptors had fired and triggered a
neuronal reflex culminating in the contraction of certain muscles. A second student
responded that the behavior might frighten predators. Which statement best describes
these explanations?
A) The first explanation is correct, but the second is incorrect.
B) The first explanation refers to proximate causation, whereas the second refers to
ultimate causation.
C) The first explanation is biological, whereas the second is philosophical.
D) The first explanation is testable as a scientific hypothesis, whereas the second is not.
E) Both explanations are reasonable and simply represent a difference of opinion.

B

A female cat in heat urinates more often and in many places. Male cats congregate near the
urine deposits and fight with each other. Which of the following is a proximate cause of this
behavior of increased urination?
A) It announces to the males that she is in heat.
B) Female cats that did this in the past attracted more males.
C) It is a result of hormonal changes associated with her reproductive cycle.
D) The female cat learned the behavior from observing other cats.
E) All of the above are ultimate causes of behavior.

C

A female cat in heat urinates more often and in many places. Male cats congregate near the
urine deposits and fight with each other. Which of the following would be an ultimate
cause of the male catsʹ response to the femaleʹs urinating behavior?
A) The males have learned to recognize the specific odor of the urine of a female in heat.
B) When the males smelled the odor, various neurons in their brains were stimulated.
C) Male cats respond to the odor because it is a means of locating females in heat.
D) Male catsʹ hormones are triggered by the odor released by the female.
E) The odor serves as a releaser for the instinctive behavior of the males.

C

Which of the following is a behavioral pattern that results from a proximate cause?
A) A cat kills a mouse to obtain food.
B) A male sheep fights with another male because it helps it to improve its social
position and find a mate.
C) A female bird lays its eggs because the amount of daylight is decreasing slightly each
day.
D) A goose squats and freezes motionless because that behavior helps it to escape a
predator.
E) A cockroach runs into a crack in the wall and avoids being stepped on

C

Which of the following is a behavioral pattern resulting from an ultimate cause?
A) A male robin attacks a red tennis ball because it resembles the breast of another male.
B) A male robin attacks a red tennis ball because hormonal changes in spring increase its
aggression.
C) A male robin attacks a red tennis ball because a part of its brain is stimulated by red
objects.
D) A male robin attacks a red tennis ball because several times in the past red tennis balls
have been thrown at it, and it has learned that they are dangerous.
E) A male robin attacks a red tennis ball because it confuses it with an encroaching male
who will steal his territory.

E

The proximate causes of behavior are interactions with the environment, but behavior is
ultimately shaped by
A) hormones.
B) evolution.
C) sexuality.
D) pheromones.
E) the nervous system.

B

) Which of the following groups of scientists is closely associated with ethology?
A) Watson, Crick, and Franklin
B) McClintock, Goodall, and Lyon
C) Fossey, Hershey, and Chase
D) von Frisch, Lorenz, and Tinbergen
E) Hardy, Weinberg, and Castle

D

) In the territorial behavior of the stickleback fish, the red belly of one male elicits attack from
another male by functioning as
A) a pheromone.
B) a sign stimulus.
C) a fixed action pattern.
D) a search image.
E) an imprint stimulus.

B

Which of the following statements is (are) true of fixed action patterns?
A) They are highly stereotyped, instinctive behaviors.
B) They are triggered by sign stimuli in the environment and, once begun, are continued
to completion.
C) An inappropriate stimulus can sometimes trigger them.
D) A and B only
E) A, B, and C

E

) Animal communication involves what type of sensory information?
A) visual
B) auditory
C) chemical
D) A and C only
E) A, B, and C

E

What type of signal is long-lasting and works at night?
A) olfactory
B) visual
C) auditory
D) tactile
E) electrical

A

What type of signal is brief and can work at night or among obstructions?
A) olfactory
B) visual
C) auditory
D) tactile
E) electrical

C

What type of signal is fast and requires daylight with no obstructions?
A) olfactory
B) visual
C) auditory
D) tactile
E) electrical

B

A chemical produced by an animal that serves as a communication to another animal of the
same species is called
A) a marker.
B) an inducer.
C) a pheromone.
D) an imprinter.
E) an agonistic chemical

C

) Which scientist formulated four questions that motivate the modern study of animal
behavior?
A) E. O. Wilson
B) Jane Goodall
C) J. B. S. Haldane
D) Niko Tinbergen
E) William Hamilton

D

Which scientist determined that digger wasps used landmarks to locate nest entrances?
A) Karl von Frisch
B) Niko Tinbergen
C) Konrad Lorenz
D) William Hamilton
E) Ivan Pavlov

B

Which scientist studied imprinting of greylag geese?
A) Karl von Frisch
B) Niko Tinbergen
C) Konrad Lorenz
D) William Hamilton
E) Ivan Pavlov

C

A cage containing male mosquitoes has a small earphone placed on top, through which the
sound of a female mosquito is played. All the males immediately fly to the earphone and
thrust their abdomens through the fabric of the cage. What is the best explanation for this
behavior?
A) The males learn to associate the sound with females.
B) Copulation is a fixed action pattern, and the female flight sound is a sign stimulus
that initiates it.
C) The sound from the earphone irritates the male mosquitoes, causing them to attempt
to sting it.
D) The reproductive drive is so strong that when males are deprived of females, they will
attempt to mate with anything that has even the slightest female characteristic.
E) Through classical conditioning, the male mosquitoes have associated the
inappropriate stimulus from the earphone with the normal response of copulation.

B

If mayflies lay eggs on roads instead of in water, this behavior could involve which of the
following?
A) a defective gene
B) trial-and-error learning
C) misdirected response to a sign stimulus
D) natural behavioral variation in the mayfly population
E) insecticide poisoning

C

The time during imprinting when specific behaviors can be learned is called the
A) window of imprinting.
B) major period.
C) sensitive period.
D) timing imprint.
E) significant window.

C

) Which of the following is true about imprinting?
A) It may be triggered by visual or chemical stimuli.
B) It happens to many adult animals, but not to their young.
C) It is a type of learning that does not involve innate behavior.
D) It occurs only in birds.
E) It causes behaviors that last for only a short time (the sensitive period).

A

A type of learning that can occur only during a brief period of early life and results in a
behavior that is difficult to modify through later experiences is called
A) insight.
B) imprinting.
C) habituation.
D) operant conditioning.
E) trial-and-error learning.

B

Sow bugs become more active in dry areas and less active in humid areas. This is an
example of
A) taxis.
B) tropism.
C) kinesis.
D) cognition.
E) net reflex.

C

You turn on a light and observe cockroaches scurrying to dark hiding places. What have
you observed?
A) taxis
B) learned behavior
C) migration
D) visual communication
E) operant conditioning

A

Loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey little or no new information is called
A) adapting.
B) spacing.
C) conditioning.
D) imprinting.
E) habituation

E

Which of the following could be classified as habituation?
A) You enter a room and hear a fan motor. After a period of time, you are no longer
aware of the motorʹs noise.
B) You hear a horn while driving your car. You step on the brakes but notice the sound
came from a side street. You resume your previous speed.
C) One morning you awake to a beep-beep-beep from a garbage truck working on a
new early morning schedule. The next week the garbage truck arrives at the same
time and makes the same noise, but does not wake you up.
D) A and C only
E) A, B, and C

D

Learning in which an associated stimulus may be used to elicit the same behavioral
response as the original sign stimulus is called
A) concept formation.
B) trial-and-error.
C) classical conditioning.
D) operant conditioning.
E) habituation.

C

Every morning at the same time, John went into the den to feed his new tropical fish. After
a few weeks, he noticed that the fish swam to the top of the tank when he entered the room.
This is an example of
A) habituation.
B) imprinting.
C) classical conditioning.
D) operant conditioning.
E) maturation.

C

The type of learning that causes specially trained dogs to salivate when they hear bells is
called
A) insight.
B) imprinting.
C) habituation.
D) classical conditioning.
E) trial-and-error learning

D

Which of the following statements about learning and behavior is incorrect?
A) Operant conditioning involves associating a behavior with a reward or punishment.
B) Associative learning involves linking one stimulus with another.
C) Classical conditioning involves trial-and-error learning.
D) Behavior can be modified by learning, but some apparent learning is due to
maturation.
E) Imprinting is a learned behavior with an innate component acquired during a
sensitive period.

C

A type of bird similar to a chickadee learns to peck through the cardboard tops of milk
bottles left on doorsteps and drink the cream from the top. What term best applies to this
behavior?
A) sign stimulus
B) habituation
C) imprinting
D) classical conditioning
E) operant conditioning

E

Male insects attempt to mate with orchids but eventually stop responding to them. What
term best applies to this behavior?
A) sign stimulus
B) habituation
C) imprinting
D) classical conditioning
E) operant conditioning

B

A salmon returns to its home stream to spawn. What term best applies to this behavior?
A) sign stimulus
B) habituation
C) imprinting
D) classical conditioning
E) operant conditioning

C

A stickleback fish will attack a fish model as long as the model has red coloring. What term
best applies to this behavior?
A) sign stimulus
B) habituation
C) imprinting
D) classical conditioning
E) operant conditioning

A

Parental protective behavior in turkeys is triggered by the cheeping sound of young chicks.
What term best applies to this behavior?
A) sign stimulus
B) habituation
C) imprinting
D) classical conditioning
E) operant conditioning

A

) A guinea pig loves the lettuce kept in the refrigerator and squeals each time the refrigerator
door opens. What term best applies to this behavior?
A) sign stimulus
B) habituation
C) imprinting
D) classical conditioning
E) operant conditioning

D

Sparrows are receptive to learning songs only during a sensitive period. What term best
applies to this behavior?
A) sign stimulus
B) habituation
C) imprinting
D) classical conditioning
E) operant conditioning

C

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning differ in that
A) classical conditioning takes longer.
B) operant conditioning usually involves more intelligence.
C) operant conditioning involves consequences for the animalʹs behavior.
D) classical conditioning is restricted to mammals and birds.
E) classical conditioning is much more useful for training domestic animals.

C

) Some dogs love attention, and Frodo the beagle learns that if he barks, he gets attention.
Which of the following might you use to describe this behavior?
A) The dog is displaying an instinctive fixed action pattern.
B) The dog is performing a social behavior.
C) The dog is trying to protect its territory.
D) The dog has been classically conditioned.
E) The dogʹs behavior is a result of operant conditioning.

E

Among song birds, a ʺcrystallizedʺ song is one that
A) is high pitched.
B) is aimed at attracting mates.
C) extremely young chicks sing.
D) is the final song that some species produce.
E) warns of predators.

D

Which of the following is least related to the others?
A) fixed action pattern
B) imprinting
C) operant conditioning
D) classical conditioning
E) habituation

A

Which statement below about mating behavior is incorrect?
A) Some aspects of courtship behavior may have evolved from agonistic interactions.
B) Courtship interactions ensure that the participating individuals are nonthreatening
and of the proper species, sex, and physiological condition for mating.
C) The degree to which evolution affects mating relationships depends on the degree of
prenatal and postnatal input the parents are required to make.
D) The mating relationship in most mammals is monogamous, to ensure the
reproductive success of the pair.
E) Polygamous relationships most often involve a single male and many females, but in
some species this is reversed.

D

Which of the following is least related to the others?
A) agonistic behavior
B) cognitive maps
C) dominance hierarchy
D) ritual
E) territory

B

Which of the following statements about evolution of behavior is correct?
A) Natural selection will favor behavior that enhances survival and reproduction.
B) An animal may show behavior that maximizes reproductive fitness.
C) If a behavior is less than optimal, it is not completely evolved but will eventually
become optimal.
D) A and B only
E) A, B, and C

D

Animals tend to maximize their energy intake-to-expenditure ratio. What is this behavior
called?
A) agonistic behavior
B) optimal foraging
C) dominance hierarchies
D) animal cognition
E) territoriality

B

) Feeding behavior with a high energy intake-to-expenditure ratio is called
A) herbivory.
B) autotrophy.
C) heterotrophy.
D) search scavenging.
E) optimal foraging

E

) Modern behavioral concepts relate the cost of a behavior to its benefit. Under which
relationship might a behavior be performed?
A) cost is greater than the benefit
B) cost is less than the benefit
C) cost is equal to the benefit
D) A and C only
E) B and C only

E

Optimal foraging involves all of the following except
A) maximizing energy gained by the forager.
B) minimizing energy expended by the forager.
C) securing essential nutrients for the forager.
D) minimizing the risk of predation on the forager.
E) maximizing the population size of the forager.

E

In the evolution of whelk-eating behavior in crows, which of the following did natural
selection minimize?
A) the average number of drops required to break the shell
B) the average height a bird flew to drop a shell
C) the average total energy used to break shells
D) the average size of the shells dropped by the birds
E) the average thickness of the shells dropped by the birds

C

Which of the following might affect the foraging behavior of an animal in the context of
optimal foraging?
A) risk of predation
B) prey size
C) prey defenses
D) A and B only
E) A, B, and C

E

You discover a rare new bird species, but you are unable to observe its mating behavior.
You see that the male is large and ornamental compared with the female. On this basis, you
can probably conclude that the species is
A) polygamous.
B) monogamous.
C) polyandrous.
D) promiscuous.
E) agonistic.

A

The evolution of mating systems is most likely affected by
A) population size.
B) care required by young.
C) certainty of paternity.
D) B and C only
E) A, B , and C

D

Fred and Joe, two unrelated, mature male gorillas, encounter one another. Fred is courting
a female. Fred grunts as Joe comes near. As Joe continues to advance, Fred begins
drumming (pounding his chest) and bares his teeth. Joe then rolls on the ground on his
back, gets up, and quickly leaves. This behavioral pattern is repeated several times during
the mating season. Choose the most specific behavior described by this example.
A) agonistic behavior
B) territorial behavior
C) learned behavior
D) social behavior
E) fixed action pattern

A

Which of the following is true of innate behaviors?
A) Genes have very little influence on the expression of innate behaviors.
B) Innate behaviors tend to vary considerably among members of a population.
C) Innate behaviors are limited to invertebrate animals.
D) Innate behaviors are expressed in most individuals in a population across a wide
range of environmental conditions.
E) Innate behaviors occur in invertebrates and some vertebrates but not in mammals.

D

Researchers have found that a region of the canary forebrain shrinks during the
nonbreeding season and enlarges when breeding season begins. This annual enlargement
of brain tissue is probably associated with the annual
A) addition of new syllables to a canaryʹs song repertoire.
B) crystallization of subsong into adult songs.
C) sensitive period in which canary parents imprint on new offspring.
D) renewal of mating and nest-building behaviors.
E) elimination of the memorized template for songs sung the previous year.

A

Although many chimpanzee populations live in environments containing oil palm nuts,
members of only a few populations use stones to crack open the nuts. The most likely
explanation for this behavioral difference between populations is that
A) the behavioral difference is caused by genetic differences between populations.
B) members of different populations have different nutritional requirements.
C) the cultural tradition of using stones to crack nuts has arisen in only some
populations.
D) members of different populations differ in learning ability.
E) members of different populations differ in manual dexterity

C

Which of the following is not required for a behavioral trait to evolve by natural selection?
A) In each individual, the form of the behavior is determined entirely by genes.
B) The behavior varies among individuals.
C) An individualʹs reproductive success depends in part on how the behavior is
performed.
D) Some component of the behavior is genetically inherited.
E) An individualʹs genotype influences its behavioral phenotype.

A

) Female spotted sandpipers aggressively court males and, after mating, leave the clutch of
young for the male to incubate. This sequence may be repeated several times with different
males until no available males remain, forcing the female to incubate her last clutch. Which
of the following terms best describes this behavior?
A) monogamy
B) polygyny
C) polyandry
D) promiscuity
E) certainty of paternity

C

According to Hamiltonʹs rule,
A) natural selection does not favor altruistic behavior that causes the death of the altruist.
B) natural selection favors altruistic acts when the resulting benefit to the beneficiary,
correct for relatedness, exceeds the cost to the altruist.
C) natural selection is more likely to favor altruistic behavior that benefits an offspring
than altruistic behavior that benefits a sibling.
D) the effects of kin selection are larger than the effects of direct natural selection on
individuals.
E) altruism is always reciprocal

B

The core idea of sociobiology is that
A) human behavior is rigidly determined by inheritance.
B) humans cannot choose to change their social behavior.
C) much human behavior has evolved by natural selection.
D) the social behavior of humans has many similarities to that of social insects such as
honeybees.
E) the environment plays a larger role than genes in shaping human behavior.

C