ANIMAL BEHAVIOR DUSTIN RUBENSTEIN EXAM
PREPARATION PACK 2026 KEY CONCEPTS
AND REVISION NOTES
◉ Habituation.
Answer: loss of responsiveness to stimuli with little or no meaning;
animal can ignore meaningless stimuli
◉ Associative Learning.
Answer: ability to connect one stimulus with another
◉ Classical Conditioning.
Answer: arbitrary stimulus associated with particular outcome
example: training a dog
◉ Operant Conditioning.
Answer: when faced with two choices, an organism can learn to
choose the option with the best reward.
example: students who study to improve their grades
◉ Cognition.
, Answer: process of knowing that involves awareness, reasoning,
recollection, and judgement
◉ Social Learning.
Answer: learning by observing others
◉ Altruism.
Answer: engaging in behavior that doesn't help you, but helps rest of
population (selfless)
◉ Inclusive Fitness.
Answer: total effect of producing offspring and helping relatives
◉ Kin Selection.
Answer: altruistic behavior that enhances reproductive success of
relatives
◉ Agonistic Behavior.
Answer: threats, rituals, and combat; settles disputes over resources,
asserting dominance
◉ Foraging.
Answer: food obtaining behavior
PREPARATION PACK 2026 KEY CONCEPTS
AND REVISION NOTES
◉ Habituation.
Answer: loss of responsiveness to stimuli with little or no meaning;
animal can ignore meaningless stimuli
◉ Associative Learning.
Answer: ability to connect one stimulus with another
◉ Classical Conditioning.
Answer: arbitrary stimulus associated with particular outcome
example: training a dog
◉ Operant Conditioning.
Answer: when faced with two choices, an organism can learn to
choose the option with the best reward.
example: students who study to improve their grades
◉ Cognition.
, Answer: process of knowing that involves awareness, reasoning,
recollection, and judgement
◉ Social Learning.
Answer: learning by observing others
◉ Altruism.
Answer: engaging in behavior that doesn't help you, but helps rest of
population (selfless)
◉ Inclusive Fitness.
Answer: total effect of producing offspring and helping relatives
◉ Kin Selection.
Answer: altruistic behavior that enhances reproductive success of
relatives
◉ Agonistic Behavior.
Answer: threats, rituals, and combat; settles disputes over resources,
asserting dominance
◉ Foraging.
Answer: food obtaining behavior
