Edexcel Biology 2105

Unit B3

Topic 2 — Behaviour in Humans and Other Animals

Behaviour is an essential part of any animal’s strategy for survival. This unit gives students an insight into instinctive and learned behaviour and how humans may make use of conditioning when training animals. Understanding why people behave as they do helps us to make rules and laws that work. The topic compares feeding behaviour in herbivores and carnivores and considers parental care as part of reproductive behaviour. It also explores the ethical issues surrounding the use of animals by humans.

Guidance for students

Have you ever wondered?

Why do dogs greet each other by sniffing?
Why do fish shoal?
What instincts are you born with and what do you learn?
How can people ‘read’ your face?
Why do cows spend all day eating?
Why are dogs so different from cats?
How does sexual attraction work in humans?
Do animals have rights?

Learning objectives

• Animals have evolved instinctive behaviours, through natural selection, which increase their chances of survival.
• Animals learn throughout their lives to increase their chances of survival and reproduction.
• Feeding behaviours maximise animals’ chances of finding sufficient food.
• Reproductive behaviours maximise animals’ chances of successfully passing on their genes.
• Social behaviours and communication skills enable animals to respond in particular ways to members of their own species and to members of other species.
• Humans have made use of other animals in different ways, and there is an increasing awareness of animal welfare issues that need to take account of animal behaviour.

Glossary

You will be expected to be able to recall, explain, describe and use appropriately the following words and phrases:

anthropomorphismemotion inherit protection
behaviourevolution instinctive selection
birdexperience learning sexual reproduction
carnivorefacial expression mammal signal
communicate gesture pack sound
conditioning great ape pheromones vertebrate
conscious habituation posture
courting herbivore predation


Information for teachers

ICT is an integral part of the way science works, and students should be given opportunities to experience and explore its use. It is expected that ICT will be used where it enhances the learning and teaching of science and helps to make scientific concepts easier to understand.

Some of the learning outcomes have been written deliberately in order to promote discussion and expression of opinion. Where contentious, unresolved or other scientific issues are discussed, it is expected that students will be exposed to the facts, evidence and opinions from all sides of the argument.

Learning outcomes Students will be assessed on their ability to:

• distinguish between and use primary and/or secondary data
• discuss and evaluate evidence and data
• consider the ethical, contemporary and social issues.

At the end of this unit students will be able to describe and explain the following statements and carry out the tasks indicated:

Instinctive and learned behaviour
• animals inherit certain patterns of behaviour from their parents known as instinctive behaviour B3 2.1
• an animal’s early experiences in life have a big impact on the way in which it behaves as an adult B3 2.2
• habituation is an important part of the learning process in young animals. B3 2.3
• animals can learn through conditioning B3 2.4
• humans can make use of conditioning when training captive animals for specific purposes. B3 2.5

Social behaviour and communication
• much behaviour requires animals to communicate B3 2.6
• communication can happen in many different ways – sounds, signals, and chemicals (pheromones)B3 2.7
• most mammals are able to communicate their intentions through body posture and facial expression B3 2.8
• facial expressions are species-specific; a gesture or expression may appear as a threat to one species, but may mean something totally different to another B3 2.9
• humans have developed highly-complex ways of communicating – transmitting knowledge of past events, emotions, and complex ideas to other humans B3 2.10
• humans are conscious of the outcomes of their actions, and as a result are more self-aware than other animals. B3 2.11

Feeding behaviours
• feeding behaviours are different depending on the type of food being consumed B3 2.12
• herbivores have to eat more food in order to get the nutrients (particularly amino acids) they require so that more time is spent eating B3 2.13
• vertebrate herbivores may feed in large groups or herds, and they may do so for protection in numbers. This is a successful evolutionary strategy, even though some members of the herd may be killed B3 2.14
• vertebrate herbivores who feed in large groups usually need to be continually on the move to find new feeding areas B3 2.15
• herbivores have to be good at avoiding, fleeing from, or resisting predation B3 2.16
• carnivores eat protein-rich food and have to spend less time actually eating B3 2.17
• carnivores have to be good at detecting and catching their food B3 2.18
• some carnivores hunt efficiently in packs B3 2.19
• some carnivores hunt efficiently as individuals B3 2.20
• mammals and birds have special feeding behaviours in relation to their young, since they show parental care B3 2.21
• some animals have developed the use of tools in their search for food. B3 2.22

Reproductive behaviours
• sexual reproduction requires the finding and selection of a suitable mate, and can involve courting behaviour B3 2.23
• some animals mate for life, others select several different mates during the mating season B3 2.24
• some animals, in particular birds and mammals, have developed special behaviours for the rearing of young, since they display parental care B3 2.25
• parental care is a successful evolutionary strategy; although it involves risk to the parents, it can increase the chances of survival of the parental genes. B3 2.26

Human behaviour in relation to other animals
• humans are one of the great apes, and have developed from small family groups of hunter-gatherers, closely related to bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees), to complex societies capable of gross modification of their own environment		 B3 2.27
• humans have exploited other animals; originally hunters, they domesticated animals that helped them hunt; as humans developed agriculture, humans exploited herd animals to provide a constant and dependable source of food B3 2.28
• humans have exploited animals in other ways, as a source of clothing and domestic materials and, more recently, for medical purposes B3 2.29
• humans also use animals as a source of entertainment (hunting, racing, circuses, wildlife parks) and companionship (pets) B3 2.30
• humans now debate the ethics of the use of animals in these different ways; some consider that animals have rights comparable or identical to humans, others consider that such beliefs are not tenable B3 2.31
• it is a mistake to interpret behaviour observed in other animals as showing human characteristics (anthropomorphism) B3 2.32
• it is also a mistake to assume that human and animal behaviours have nothing in common. B3 2.33