Determinants of Animal Behaviour

A concise introduction to psychological theories which attempt to explain non-human animal behaviour. Theories covered include evolutionary explanations, classical and operant conditioning and social learning.

Are animals intelligent? How do they learn to solve everyday survival problems? Can they be intentionally deceptive? The investigation of animal behaviour is an important and fascinating aspect of comparative psychology. Determinants of Animal Behaviour thoroughly covers the section on determinants of animal behaviour in the AQA (A) comparative psychology module and deals with the three main topics featured in the syllabus. Firstly the evolutionary explanations of animal behaviour are discussed, including the biological explanations of apparent altruism. Secondly the nature of classical and operant conditioning in animal behaviour is considered and finally the role of social learning in animals is investigated. Real life examples are used throughout the book to illustrate the arguments presented.
Determinants of Animal Behaviour is an ideal introductory text to the subject, full of real life examples and both traditional and cutting-edge research. It will be of interest to all students new to comparative psychology and highly accessible to anyone wishing to know more about the diversity and ingenuity of animal behaviour.