Which option best describes a fixed action pattern?

Which option best describes a fixed action pattern?

• A. Habituation
• B. Imprinting
• C. Fixed action patterns
• D. Operant conditioning

Answer: (C)

Fixed action patterns are instinctive, hard-wired sequences of behavior that, once triggered by a specific sign stimulus, unfold to completion with little influence from later environmental changes. This innate, stereotyped sequence is what defines a fixed action pattern, distinguishing it from learned processes. The other concepts involve learning: habituation is a diminished response to a repeated, inconsequential stimulus; imprinting is rapid early-life learning that forms attachments; operant conditioning is learning through consequences that alter the likelihood of a behavior.

Fixed action patterns are instinctive, hard-wired sequences of behavior that, once triggered by a specific sign stimulus, unfold to completion with little influence from later environmental changes. This innate, stereotyped sequence is what defines a fixed action pattern, distinguishing it from learned processes. The other concepts involve learning: habituation is a diminished response to a repeated, inconsequential stimulus; imprinting is rapid early-life learning that forms attachments; operant conditioning is learning through consequences that alter the likelihood of a behavior.