ethology
Animal behavior study
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, particularly as it occurs in natural environments rather than laboratories.
The field emphasizes observation of instinctive behaviors, social structures, and how animals interact with their surroundings.
Ethologists study everything from mating rituals to migration patterns to communication systems.
Jane Goodall's work with chimpanzees is a landmark of ethology.
The term is occasionally applied to the study of human behavior from a biological perspective.
Existing since birth
- fixed action patternInnate, stereotyped behavioral sequence
- driveOperate a vehicle
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
- impulseSudden urge to act
survival · maternal · homing · fight-or-flight · pheromones · imprinting · releaser · appetitive
Study of fauna
- biologyStudy of organisms
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- ecologyStudy of environmental relations
taxonomy · animal cognition · primatology · ornithology · entomology · mammalogy · biogeography · evolutionary psychology
Seeking another's romantic favor
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- predationHunting and consuming prey
- territorialityDefense of claimed space
dominance · submission · grooming · aggression · play · communication · migration · nesting
Genetic share of variation
- innateExisting since birth
- inheritedReceived from forebears
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
natural selection · phenotype · genotype · epigenetics · behavioral genetics · selfish gene · nature versus nurture
Austrian animal behaviorist
- DarwinBritish naturalist, species theorist
- GoodallBritish primatologist in Tanzania
- Nobel PrizeHighest academic honor
- fixed action patternInnate, stereotyped behavioral sequence
Research conducted on location
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
- recordingCaptured audio or video
naturalistic · comparative · experimental · video analysis · telemetry · tagging · habituation
innate
Existing since birth
- fixed action patternInnate, stereotyped behavioral sequence
- driveOperate a vehicle
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
impulse · survival · maternal · homing · fight-or-flight · pheromones · imprinting · releaser · appetitive · tropism
zoology
Study of fauna
- biologyStudy of organisms
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
ecology · taxonomy · animal cognition · primatology · ornithology · entomology · mammalogy · biogeography · evolutionary psychology · natural selection
courtship
Seeking another's romantic favor
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- predationHunting and consuming prey
territoriality · dominance · submission · grooming · aggression · play · communication · migration · nesting · camouflage
heritability
Genetic share of variation
adaptation · natural selection · phenotype · genotype · epigenetics · behavioral genetics · selfish gene · nature versus nurture
Lorenz
Austrian animal behaviorist
- DarwinBritish naturalist, species theorist
- GoodallBritish primatologist in Tanzania
- Nobel PrizeHighest academic honor
fieldwork
Research conducted on location
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
recording · naturalistic · comparative · experimental · video analysis · telemetry · tagging · habituation
ethologyhuman psychology
Study of mind and behavior
anthropology · clinical psychology · psychiatry · social psychology · cognitive psychology
ethologybehaviorism
Psychology studying observable conduct
nurture · associationism · learning theory · tabula rasa · operant conditioning