Introduction

• The Significance of Animal Behavior Research by Charles T. Snowdon

Historical Background

• The early Behaviorists took the extreme view that human behavior could be explained entirely in terms of learning and reflexes.
• Karl von Frisch, Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz shared the Nobel Prize in 1973 for their work in developing the field of Ethology.

Classical Ethology

• The University of Plymouth provides a good overview of ethological experiments including some of the classics by Tinbergen and Lorenz (with illustrations).

Experimental Psychology

• Experimental Psychology can been characterized by its emphasis on learning. This lecture from the Wabaxh College Psychology Department provides an overview of Learning Theory.
• Classical conditioning involves the association of a conditioned stumulus (such as a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g. a taste of meat). It is very sensitive to the timing of the stimulus and other factors.
• Operant conditioning is another type of associative learning. In this case the animal's behavior affects the presentation of the reinforcer. For example, the animal may have to do something in order to receive a reward. 

Behavior Genetics

• the Behavior Genetics Association promotes scientific study of the interrelationship of genetic mechanisms and behavior, both human and animal.

The Physiological Basis of Behavior

• This lecture on biopsychology reviews the basics of neural function.
• In lecture I discussed the developmental and activational effects of hormones. This website on Hormones and Sexual Behavior includes a photograph showing the location of estrogen and testosterone receptors in the brain.

Orientation and Biological Rhythms

• One of the most remarkable examples of long range animal movement is the fall migration of  300 million monarch butterflies of up to 3,000 miles from North America to a tiny area in the mountains west of Mexico City.
• The Biotiming Tutorial has some interesting information on biological clocks in humans and other animals.

Artificial Life

• Artificial Life refers to simulations (electronic or mechanical) that mimic some of the behavioral, genetic and evolutionary characteristics of the real thing. Artificial Life Online contains information and free software you can download.
• The journal Adaptive Behavior is a forum for research on adaptive behavior in animals and autonomous, artificial systems. This site includes abstracts from back issues.

Human Behavior

• Evolutionary Psychology is an approach to the study of the human mind that emphasizes its evolutionary context.
• The Film Archive of Human Ethology attempts to document the behavioral commonalities of different human cultures.

Methods

• Radio Telemetry can be used to track the movements of animals in the wild.

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