Control of Behavior
Control of Behavior
From the beginning, the mostly invariable and predictable nature of stereotyped behavior suggested to behaviorists that they were dealing with inherited, or innate, behavior. Many kinds of preprogrammed behavior appear suddenly in animals and are indistinguishable from similar behavior performed by older, experienced individuals. Orb-weaving spiders build their webs without practice, and male crickets court females without lessons from more experienced crickets or by learning from trial and error. To such behaviors the term innate, or instinctive, has been applied. Such words suggest that these behavioral patterns are absolutely committed and will develop in the same way regardless of environment. This idea, called instinct theory, has fallen out of fashion with behavioral scientists because it cannot be shown that a behavior develops independently of experience. Critics of instinct theory argue that all forms of behavior depend on an interaction of the organism and environment, beginning with the fertilized egg. Genes code for proteins and not directly for behavior. Even with webbuilding spiders and courting crickets, the environment is bound to have some influence. Given a different environment in which to develop, the resulting behavior may be different. Nevertheless, it seems incontestable that many complex sequences of behavior in invertebrate animals are largely invariate in their execution, are not learned, and appear to be programmed by rules. It is easy to understand why programmed behavior is important for survival, especially for animals that never know their parents. They must be equipped to respond to the world immediately and correctly as soon as they emerge into it. It is also evident that more complex animals with longer lives and with parental care or other opportunities for social interactions may improve or change their behavior by learning.
From the beginning, the mostly invariable and predictable nature of stereotyped behavior suggested to behaviorists that they were dealing with inherited, or innate, behavior. Many kinds of preprogrammed behavior appear suddenly in animals and are indistinguishable from similar behavior performed by older, experienced individuals. Orb-weaving spiders build their webs without practice, and male crickets court females without lessons from more experienced crickets or by learning from trial and error. To such behaviors the term innate, or instinctive, has been applied. Such words suggest that these behavioral patterns are absolutely committed and will develop in the same way regardless of environment. This idea, called instinct theory, has fallen out of fashion with behavioral scientists because it cannot be shown that a behavior develops independently of experience. Critics of instinct theory argue that all forms of behavior depend on an interaction of the organism and environment, beginning with the fertilized egg. Genes code for proteins and not directly for behavior. Even with webbuilding spiders and courting crickets, the environment is bound to have some influence. Given a different environment in which to develop, the resulting behavior may be different. Nevertheless, it seems incontestable that many complex sequences of behavior in invertebrate animals are largely invariate in their execution, are not learned, and appear to be programmed by rules. It is easy to understand why programmed behavior is important for survival, especially for animals that never know their parents. They must be equipped to respond to the world immediately and correctly as soon as they emerge into it. It is also evident that more complex animals with longer lives and with parental care or other opportunities for social interactions may improve or change their behavior by learning.
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