What do you think?
Rate this book
Principles of Animal Behavior
Paperback
Published January 1, 1969
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 25, 2010
An older textbook on animal behavior. . . . This was published in 1969. I purchased this for background as I took courses in the biology of behavior back in graduate school. Tavolga notes that (Page ix): "The purpose here is to summarize certain basic principles that underlie the science of animal behavior."
The approach is what was termed the developmental approach (see the work of T. C. Schneirla and Daniel Lehrman for more detail). This approach departs from the old dichotomies--learning versus instinct, inherited versus acquired, and so on. The book is somewhat odd since, given its title, it does not get to behavior until the final two chapters (and this is a slim volume). The book begins with the nature of organisms and how they function. The book opens with some fundamentals of the study of behavior, with a description of the developmental approach. Then, a consideration of methodology--how do we study animal behavior?
After that, Tavolga examines the bases of behavior-- sensory capacity and the integration of an organism's responses, culminating with a discussion of nervous systems. Then, species-typical behavior and an analysis of experience and the development of behavior.
A nice brief introduction to animal behavior from one theoretical perspective. . . .
The approach is what was termed the developmental approach (see the work of T. C. Schneirla and Daniel Lehrman for more detail). This approach departs from the old dichotomies--learning versus instinct, inherited versus acquired, and so on. The book is somewhat odd since, given its title, it does not get to behavior until the final two chapters (and this is a slim volume). The book begins with the nature of organisms and how they function. The book opens with some fundamentals of the study of behavior, with a description of the developmental approach. Then, a consideration of methodology--how do we study animal behavior?
After that, Tavolga examines the bases of behavior-- sensory capacity and the integration of an organism's responses, culminating with a discussion of nervous systems. Then, species-typical behavior and an analysis of experience and the development of behavior.
A nice brief introduction to animal behavior from one theoretical perspective. . . .
Displaying 1 of 1 review