Chapter 6, Problem 1ST-202

Summary Introduction

To determine:

By learning to make predictions about the things in their environment, animals can avoid traps or foods that could make them sick, which keeps them healthy and increases their chance of survival. Offspring and other members of the species can learn these behaviors through observation, which helps strengthen the whole species.

Concept introduction:

In the wild, animals have to rely on their instincts to survive. It is important for animals to learn about things in their environment that could hurt them or make them sick.

Explanation of Solution

Suggested responses:

Imagine, for example, the colorful patterns on a poisonous frog in the rain forest. These colors are not just to look pretty. They tell birds and other predators that the frog is poisonous. It is like the frog’s skin is saying, “Watch out! I will make you sick if you eat me!” The colorful skin is at first a neutral stimulus—it is just the way the frog looks. If a bird eats one of these frogs, it will get sick. The bird soon learns to associate the colorful frogs with sickness, so it becomes conditioned—or learns—to avoid the colorful frogs (conditioned response).

How can this be adaptive for the whole species? Animals often learn by observing their parents or other members of their species. (You will learn more about observational learning and other ways we learn on page 223 of Chapter 6). In our example of the poisonous frogs, if mom and dad avoid the colorful frogs, baby birds learn to do the same. This means that fewer birds are getting sick and weak, or dying, because they ate poisonous food. It is not just poisonous frogs. Animals can learn to avoid toxic plants and berries, dangerous traps, and other unsafe situations that could harm them. This ensures the survival and strength of not only the individual animal, but the whole species.