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Course9.2025 lectures

Animal Behavior

Prof. Gerald E. Schneider · Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Start with lecture 1 At MIT OpenCourseWare

About

The introductory topics will cover various approaches to the study of animals and their behavior. Key concepts in studies of animal behavior, emphasizing ethology, are covered in class and in the assigned readings from Scott (2005), supplemented by selections from other books, especially from classics in the field as well as selected videos. Next, key concepts in sociobiology are covered using readings from Alcock (2001), supplemented by selections from additional books and some video presentations.

Lectures

Audio Lectures

  1. Lec1: Introduction to animal behavior and how it is studied Video
  2. Lec2: Introduction to ethology Video
  3. Lec4: Ethology and Konrad Lorenz' Jackdaws Video
  4. Lec6: Fixed action patterns and central nervous system Video
  5. Lec8: Innate behaviors, motivation and fundamentals of ethology Video
  6. Lec9: Lorenz on fundamental ethology, part 1 Video
  7. Lec10: Lorenz on fundamental ethology, part 2 Video
  8. Lec11: Lorenz on fundamentals of ethology, part 3 Video
  9. Lec12: Evolution and the development and plasticity of behavior, part 1 Video
  10. Lec13: Evolution and the development and plasticity of behavior, part 2 Video
  11. Lec14: Communication and Meerkats of the Kalahari Desert, part 1 Video
  12. Lec15: Communication and Meerkats of the Kalahari Desert, part 2 Video
  13. Lec16: Foraging behaviors Video
  14. Lec17: Anti-predator behavior Video
  15. Lec18: Mating and reproduction Video
  16. Lec20: Sociobiology Video
  17. Lec21: Genetic influences on social behavior Video
  18. Lec23: Sociobiology, mating behaviors and scientific method Video
  19. Lec24: Discoveries of sociobiology Video
  20. Lec25: Cultural determinism and sociobiology Video
  21. Lec26: Critique of cultural determinism Video
  22. Lec27: Sociobiology and culture Video
  23. Lec28: Triumph of sociobiology and learning Video
  24. Lec29: Konrad Lorenz on learning, part 2 Video
  25. Lec30: Konrad Lorenz on learning, part 3 Video

Syllabus and materials

At MIT OpenCourseWare, as the course publishes them.

Credits and licence

Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Teacher
Prof. Gerald E. Schneider
Term
Fall 2013
Level
Undergraduate
Language
English
Subjects
Biology, Psychology and the brain
Source
MIT OpenCourseWare
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, as MIT OpenCourseWare states it. Non-commercial use only. MIT OpenCourseWare's terms
Attribution
Prof. Gerald E. Schneider. Animal Behavior. Fall 2013. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu/. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
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