Instinctive and Learned Behaviors

Ch 4, Lesson 3
Learned and Inherited Behaviors

Animal behaviors are shaped by both heredity and learning. Let's take a closer look at how these two factors affect behavior!

Think about it!

When you wake up in the morning, you probably have a routine of getting dressed, eating breakfast, and brushing your teeth. Did you know that all the steps of your morning routine are learned behaviors?

We would never know how to brush our teeth if our parents did not teach us to do so, nor would we sit down at a table to eat breakfast or put on clothes for the day.

Multiple Choice

Pre-Test:

Which of the following behaviors below is a learned behavior?

Multiple Choice

Pre-Test:

Which of the following behaviors below is an inherited behavior?

Learned Behaviors

• A learned behavior is influenced by the surrounding environment

• It is not passed down from our parents

Examples:

Human: reading, writing, talking, and playing sports.

Animal: dogs learning tricks and dolphins jumping in shows.

Inherited Behavior

• An inherited behavior is not influenced by the surrounding environment

• It is passed down from our parents

Examples:

Human: breathing, blinking, and sleeping

Animal: hibernation, migration, and web- and nest- building

Multiple Choice

Dolphins can learn how to jump and do tricks.

• Learned Behavior

• Inherited Behavior

Multiple Choice

Mother sea turtles lay many eggs to increase the chance that some of them will survive.

• Inherited Bahavior

• Learned Behavior

Multiple Choice

Birds build nests and sit on the eggs to keep them warm.

• Inherited Behavior

• Learned Behavior

Multiple Choice

Babies learn how to talk from their families.

• Learned Behavior

• Inherited Behavior

Animal Responses

Every bird chirps their own song. Just as we learn to sing songs, so do birds. At a very young age, baby birds must learn to imitate the birdsong of their parents. 

If they do not learn their birdsong, they will not be able to communicate with other birds of their kind.

Responses Continued

We may think that a bird's chirping is something that they are just able to do—that they are born with it. This is not the case. Birds are able to make sounds when they are born, but they need to learn their language from their parents. 

We can relate this to human language. When you were born, you were able to make sounds, but it was your parents who taught you your ABC's. 

Learned Behaviors

• Sitting for a Treat

• Barking to Go Outside

• Hunting in a Pack Talking

Animals learn to use their voice to let you know when they need something.

Animals learn to play with each other through social interaction. 

Animals learn to catch food by traveling and hunting in packs.

Animals can even learn to use tools, like monkeys using sticks.

Inherited Behaviors

• Migrating

• Hibernating

• Shedding Fur

• Building a Spider Wed

To survive harsh weather conditions, some animals will hibernate through the winter.

Some animals have thicker fur or fur that changes color in winter months.

In order to trap their prey, some animals build webs.

Many animals will migrate when environmental conditions change.

Multiple Choice

A spider building a web is a....

• learned behavior

• inherited behavior

Multiple Choice

A dog barking to let you know it needs to go out is a .....

• learned behavior

• inherited behavior