Deck 2: Genetic Contributions to Motivated Behavior

Question 1

A genetically programmed bit of behavior that occurs when circumstances are appropriate and that require no learning is called:

A) habit
B) instinct
C) imprinting
D) inhabitation

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following did William James NOT believe about instincts? Instincts were:

A) similar to reflexes
B) elicited by sensory stimuli
C) only seen in animals
D) occur blindly the first time

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A list of all behaviors observed in a species is called:

A) an ethogram
B) a species gram
C) a species list
D) an ethnographic list

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a property of a fixed action pattern? The fixed action pattern is:

A) stereotyped
B) independent of immediate external control
C) entirely learned
D) spontaneous

Question 5

Rowland's (1989) finding that female sticklebacks preferred dummy males who were larger than normal male sticklebacks fits ethological theory because it shows how:

A) mate size is important in the mating behavior of sticklebacks
B) preference for a superoptimal male stimulus does not provide advantages
C) organisms' reactions to environmental stimuli are learned
D) males are able to interact with females

Question 6

According to ethological theory, behaviors are inhibited by:

A) fixed action patterns
B) appetitive action patterns
C) innate releasing mechanisms
D) learned releasing mechanisms

Question 7

The branch of biology that concerns itself with the study of the evolution, development and function of behavior of animals and humans in their natural habitats is called:

A) anthropology
B) psychology
C) ethology
D) ethnography

Question 8

Low intensity, incomplete responses indicating that energy is beginning to accumulate in an instinctive behavior system is typical of which type of behavior?

A) fixed action patterns
B) intention movements
C) prepared behaviors
D) appetitive behaviors

Question 9

In Tinbergen's study of mating in stickleback fish, the female triggers the male courtship ritual. She would be called the:

A) social releaser
B) appetitive behavior
C) action specific energy
D) innate releasing mechanism

Question 10

According to Craig (1918), _____ is to well-coordinated, fixed patterns of responding as _____ is to restless, searching, adaptive behavior.

A) consummatory; appetitive
B) appetitive; consummatory
C) taxis; fixed action pattern
D) displacement; taxis

Question 11

According to the text, the main difference between taxes and fixed action patterns (FAPs) is:

A) taxes are innate and FAPs are learned
B) FAPs are innate and taxes are learned
C) taxes are responsive to change, but FAPs are not
D) taxes are unresponsive to change, while FAPs are modifiable

Question 12

The response that a key stimulus releases is called the:

A) fixed action pattern
B) stimulation response
C) innate action pattern
D) superoptimal response

Question 13

According to Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1972), the "eyebrow flick," or brief lifting of the eyebrows in humans, signals:

A) recognition of someone who is familiar
B) recognition of someone who is a possible threat
C) the first move in an aggressive encounter
D) an intention of courtship

Question 14

The anthropomorphic method of analysis used by McDougall:

A) stresses the continuity between humans and animals
B) clearly distinguished between instinct and learning
C) is recognized today as being too objective
D) could only be applied to animals

Question 15

Environmental stimuli which act as keys to allow behavior to occur are called:

A) innate releasing mechanisms
B) sign stimuli
C) fixed action patterns
D) action specific energy

Question 16

According to William McDougall, which of the following is NOT true?

A) instincts consist of cognitive, affective and conative components
B) all behavior is instinctive
C) some instinctive behavior is purposive
D) instincts can never be changed or modified

Question 17

An example of a _____ stimulus is when a bird prefers an egg that is larger than its normal- size egg.

A) social
B) supernormal
C) subliminal
D) extraordinary

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a valid criticism of early instinct theories?

A) arbitrary lists of instincts do not help us understand behaviors
B) scientists do not agree on how many types of instincts exist
C) behaviors are responses to both internal and external stimuli
D) the idea that behavior may come from genetic programs

Question 19

Among the problems with the early instinct theories was the idea of the nominal fallacy, which means that:

A) labeling or naming something does not explain it
B) the idea of instincts was a fallacy; there are no such things as instincts
C) instincts are either inhibited or become habits
D) instincts are the same as learned behaviors

Question 20

Which of the following was NOT a component of instincts, according to William McDougall?

A) cognition
B) learning
C) emotion
D) conation

Question 21

According to Seligman (1970), _____ behaviors are either instinctive or very easily learned, while _____ behaviors involve the formation of associations between events and responses.

A) prepared; contraprepared
B) prepared; unprepared
C) contraprepared; prepared
D) unprepared; prepared

Question 22

According to the text, the _____ program is genetically established and is modifiable, while the _____ program is genetically established, but is not modifiable.

A) open; closed
B) closed; open
C) variable; fixed
D) open; fixed

Question 23

The arched back of a cat may be an expression of two motives (for example, to attack and to flee), which would be an example of which type of behavior?

A) displacement
B) redirected behavior
C) simultaneous ambivalent behavior
D) successive ambivalent behavior

Question 24

Organisms with short life spans would be more likely to have _____ programs, while longer-lived organisms would be more likely to benefit from _____ programs.

A) closed; open
B) open; closed
C) short; long
D) fixed; flexible

Question 25

A socialization process in which a young individual forms an attachment to its parents is called:

A) imprinting
B) social learning
C) social signaling
D) instinctive attachment

Question 26

When two equally strong motives are in conflict and are inhibiting each other, what type of behavior is likely to occur?

A) displacement
B) redirected behavior
C) simultaneous ambivalent behavior
D) successive ambivalent behavior

Question 27

The alternating between attack and escape responses of a male stickleback when it meets another male intruding in its territory is an example of what type of behavior?

A) displacement
B) redirected behavior
C) simultaneous ambivalent behavior
D) successive ambivalent behavior

Question 28

An important aspect of the shyness studies of Kagan and colleagues (1988) is that it shows:

A) that certain traits like shyness are entirely genetic, regardless of environment
B) that certain traits like shyness are entirely learned, regardless of genetics
C) shyness is due entirely to cultural norms
D) how nature and nurture interact to produce some behaviors

Question 29

The object of attachment is _____, while the process of becoming attached is _____.

A) innate; learned
B) learned; innate
C) instinctive; innate
D) fixed; variable

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of imprinting as described in the text? Imprinting:

A) occurs most readily during a sensitive period of the organism's life
B) is permanent and irreversible
C) is independent of reinforcement
D ) is only effective for females

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT a function of intraspecific aggression?

A) to spread conspecifics out over a larger physical area
B) to provide the strongest animals with the best territories
C) to provide protection of the young from predators
D) to allow the weakest animal to be killed, insuring "survival of the fittest"

Question 32

Trying to teach a dog to yawn for food is apparently impossible. Seligman would classify this behavior as:

A) unprepared
B) contraprepared
C) prepared
D) unprepared

Question 33

If two or more sign stimuli are present simultaneously, which general type of behavior is likely to result?

A) aggressive
B) conflict
C) dominant
D) displacement

Question 34

In the mating behavior of the stickleback, males and females perform certain behaviors in an alternating sequence known as:

A) a reaction chain
B) a fixed action chain
C) a species-typical chain
D) imprinting

Question 35

After hatching, a graylag goose follows the first moving object it sees, for example, a person. Later, at sexual maturity, the goose shows no interest in conspecifics (other graylag geese). This case would be an example of:

A) instinct
B) social learning
C) imprinting
D) reward

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT a category of conflict behavior?

A) successive ambivalent behavior
B) redirected behavior
C) reaction chain behavior
D) ethological displacement

Question 37

According to Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1972) and other researchers, many facial expressions in humans:

A) are learned at an early age
B) are extremely variable from culture to culture
C) cannot be properly interpreted by scientists
D) may signal recognition or other social communication

Question 38

According to ethologists, which of the following is NOT true about eye contact?

A) it may signal a potential threat
B) it may indicate liking or attraction
C) it may provide information or communicate feelings
D) it is relevant only in close interpersonal relationships

Question 39

In an encounter with another person, changing one's stance by shifting one's weight and increasing one's distance from the other person is an example of:

A) an intention movement
B) an appetitive behavior
C) a fixed action pattern
D) a learned behavior

Question 40

If a person's boss yells at her at work, and she comes home and yells at her kids, it could be an example of:

A) ethological displacement
B) simultaneous ambivalent behavior
C) redirected behavior
D) ethological enhancement activity

Question 41

A relatively new field of research, defined as "the analysis of the human mind as a collection of evolved mechanisms, the contexts that activate those mechanisms and the behavior generated by those mechanisms" is known as:

A) cognitive neuroscience
B) evolutionary psychology
C) biological psychology
D) positive psychology

Question 42

Studies done by Ekman and others indicate that

A) many human facial expressions might be considered universal
B) human facial expressions vary from culture to culture around the world
C) facial expressions are not important for communication among humans
D) appeasement gestures help initiate violent or aggressive behaviors between people

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of intraspecific aggression?

A) encourages mobbing behavior
B) spreads animals out
C) strongest animals get best territories
D) protects young from predators

Question 44

Human adults tend to retain juvenile traits into adulthood more than other primates. This is called:

A) juvenile plasticity
B) neoteny
C) stereotypy
D) appeasement

Question 45

"Hair flipping" behavior in human females, ritualized flight, and smiling then looking away can all be construed as what type of behavior?

A) dominant
B) submissive
C) flirting
D) aggressive

Question 46

Researchers who investigate how animals interpret information, or who study whether or not animals have conscious awareness, most likely would be in the field of:

A) cognitive neuroscience
B) animal development
C) cognitive ethology
D) experimental psychology

Question 47

Evolutionary psychologists are interested in evolved mechanisms that helped resolve specific _____ concerned with survival or reproduction.

A) interspecific aggression
B) intraspecific aggression
C) fixed action patterns
D) adaptive problems

Question 48

According to ethologists and evolutionary psychologists,

A) no links exist between sexual and aggressive behaviors.
B) aggressive motivation and sexual motivation appear to be closely related
C) aggression has always been maladaptive throughout our evolutionary history
D) aggression is the dominant force of nature for all animals

Question 49

According to Mattingly and others, speech and language:

A) may serve as both a representation of our experiences and as a phonetic releaser system
B) have no genetic component, only learned components
C) are entirely innate
D) can be learned only during a critical period from birth to two years of age

Question 50

Three major types of intraspecific aggression mentioned by Lorenz in his book, On Aggression, are:

A) predatory attack, mobbing behavior, and critical reaction
B) quiet biting attack, mobbing behavior, and critical reaction
C) defensive attack, mob attack, and predatory attack
D) group attack, group reaction, and mobbing behavior