Animal Behavior & Psychology Flashcards
7 cards from real CPA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Animal Behavior & Psychology flashcards as text
Which type of animal learning is demonstrated when a rat receives food every time it presses a lever?
Answer: Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner) links voluntary behaviors to their consequences — pressing the lever is reinforced by food delivery.
In Pavlov's classical conditioning experiments, the bell (before conditioning) is termed the:
Answer: Neutral stimulus
Before conditioning, the bell is a neutral stimulus that produces no food-related response; it becomes a conditioned stimulus only after repeated pairing with food.
Animals living in larger social groups typically gain which key anti-predator advantage?
Answer: Dilution effect reducing individual predation risk
The dilution effect means that as group size increases, each individual's probability of being the one targeted by a predator decreases.
What distinguishes 'mutualism' from 'commensalism' in interspecific animal relationships?
Answer: In mutualism both species benefit; in commensalism only one benefits without harming the other
Mutualism benefits both species (e.g., cleaner fish and host fish), while commensalism benefits one species with no effect on the other.
Which concept explains why male peacocks evolved extravagant tail feathers despite the survival cost they impose?
Answer: Sexual selection via female mate choice
Sexual selection, specifically female mate choice (intersexual selection), drove the evolution of elaborate male traits that signal genetic quality to potential mates.
The term 'ethogram' in animal behavior research refers to:
Answer: A comprehensive catalog of all behaviors performed by a species
An ethogram is a complete inventory of all the distinct behavioral acts observed in a species, used as the foundation for behavioral research.
Which phenomenon occurs when an animal spontaneously recovers a previously extinguished conditioned response after a rest period?
Answer: Spontaneous recovery
Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a period without exposure to the conditioned stimulus.