Ethology: The

comparative study
of behavior
Antecedents of Ethology
From the turn of the century to well into the
50s, psychology could be roughly divided into
two camps.
The purposive psychologists: All behavior is
goal directed, that is, it has a purpose
William Mac Dougall and later, Edward Chase
Tolman believed that instinct could be used to
explain behavior.
Instinct was believed to be infallible, and
inexplicable.
This, of course, is silly
Antecedents of Ethology
The behaviorists argued that the controlled
experiment, and the search for causal
explanations of behavior was the only
legitimate source of knowledge.
Problem:
A behavior must be examined experimentally in a
controlled laboratory setting
Takes organism from the environment in which it
normally behaves
Typically only learning processes could be
examined this way
Thus, the conclusion could be reached that all
behavior is learned. This is silly too.
Meanwhile.
C.O. Whitman and Oskar Heinroth noticed the
existence of patterns of movement with
similarities and differences between species
that correlated with comparable physical
characters.
The same evolutionary thinking that is
applied to physical traits can be applied to
behavior patterns.
e.g. Homologous structures
Behavior patterns are innate, that is they are
coded in the genome.
The birth of Ethology
Ethology: the study of the evolution,
development and function of behavior.
Emphasizes the observation of organisms
in their natural setting, before attempting
laboratory experiments.
Ethogram: comprehensive, descriptive
reports of an organisms behavior while
interacting in its normal environment.

Konrad Lorenz
(1903-1989)


There are mechanism of
behavior which evolve in
phylogeny exactly as organs do,
so that concepts of homology can
be applied to them as well as to
morphological structures
Background
Born in Altenberg, Austria.
By the age of 4, Lorenz was raising newts
and ducklings. This fascination with animals
was a large influence on the course of his life.
At 19, Lorenz begins a 10 year career as a
motorcycle racer, while still developing his
academic career.
In 1928, K.L. accepted a professorship at the
University of Vienna.
During the war, K.L. became a full professor
at the University of Konigsberg.

Background
1941, K.L. is drafted into the German army.
1944, K.L. is captured in Russia. Kept as a
P.O.W. until 1948. Presumed dead. Writes
two ethological articles on scrap paper and
hand raises a starling.
K.L. restarts his career.
1973, together with Niko Tinbergen and Karl
Von Frisch, K.L. receives the Nobel Prize for
developing a unified theory of motivation and
behavior.

Example: The gray goose
The Behavior:
When a gray
goose sees an
egg that has
rolled out of its
nest it retrieves
the egg in a
very
stereotyped
manner.
Egg retrieval in the Graylag
Goose
The egg rolling movement:
Goose must see an egg shaped object key
stimulus.
The tendency to perform the movement can
be exhausted
The longer one waits after exhaustion the
easier it is to reelicit the act.
The form of the movement is always the
same regardless of egg size or shape.
The Gray Goose
The goose will continue to perform the
movement even if the egg is removed
during the act.
After long periods of inactivity the
goose will perform the act in the
absence of a missing egg.
Leerlaufreakyion-Vacuum activity.

Key Stimuli
Environmental events or conditions that
the animals perceptual mechanisms are
tuned to.

Action Specific Energy (ASE)
Energy is stored specific to a given act
i.e. motivational systems run on
different energy.
This energy continues to build up.
If not released Vacuum Activities take
place.
Example: house cat

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)
The genetically programmed core of a species
typical behavior.
A highly stereotyped innate movement pattern
that is based on activity in a specific coordinating
center in the CNS.
FAP is released by appropriate key stimuli
and runs to completion regardless of further
stimulation (endogenously driven).
Squirrels and Nuts

Types of Behaviors
Appetitive Behavior: Those behaviors
that place the animal in contact with
relevant key stimuli. Goal Oriented.

Consumatory Behavior: The final phase
of a motivated behavior that occurs
following perception of key stimuli.
Innate Releasing Mechanism
(IRM)
The FAP central coordinating center is
normally held under inhibition by the IRM.
When the appropriate stimuli are presented
(key stimuli) the IRM releases its hold on the
FAP and the stored ASE is used to produce
the appropriate chain of behaviors.
The IRM can be thought of as a lock and the
Key stimulus as a Key.

Lorenzs Psychohydraulic
Model
Supra-normal Sign Stimuli
A supra-normal sign stimulus is one that
mimics and outdoes normal sign stimuli.
The Ethological Contribution
The concept that our sensory apparatus are
tuned to respond to certain stimuli and not
others.
The concept that how we, and other
organisms, learn may be dependent upon
innate programs.
That what can be learned is biologically
constrained.
That human behavior can be understood
though an evolutionary perspective.
Human Ethology
Humans have F.A.P.s as well
The eyebrow flash
Eye rubbing
Shoulder shrug to ward off attack
Covering head with hands
Smiling
Visual illusions
F.A.P.s in humans not as rigid as those in
other organisms.
Study the sign stimuli that release human
F.A.P.s
Innate Behaviors in
Humans
The eyebrow flash
is seen in all
cultures.

Innate behaviors in humans
Sign Stimuli in Human
Behavior
The corpus adipose buccae in infants.
Consider sexual dimorphisms as
possible key stimuli:
Secondary sex characteristics:
Differential deposition of fat.
Deep voice vs. High voice
Beard
Sign Stimuli in Human
Behavior
When threatened there is a tendency to
rotate the arms inward and raise the
shoulders. Males may puff up the
chest.
When frightened small muscles on the
arms, back, and shoulders tense
causing the hair to stand erect
(pyloerrection).
Direction of hair growth in
modern man:
Loss of body hair results in males
accentuating the shoulders artificially:
Sign Stimuli in Human
Behavior
Response to Supra-normal stimuli
utilized by fashion and cosmetics
industry.
Mascara accentuates the eyes
Rouge accentuates rosy cheeks
Lip Stick accentuates full Lips
Supra-normal stimuli in
Humans