Comparative Animal Behaviour

"This book is intended for use with undergraduates taking their first course in the area of comparative psychology and animal behavior. It is written by a comparative psychologist, with a certain emphasis on material from that discipline. However, the area of animal behavior is so truly interdisciplinary that any contemporary presentation must represent some kind of synthesis of material from different related disciplines. Therefore, the book also draws heavily on material from related disciplines. It is hoped that the book may also generate some interest in those disciplines. Part One provides introductory material related to the study of animal behavior. Part Two comprises three chapters in which behavior is described. The goal is to familiarize the student with a broad range of behavioral patterns, many of which will be analyzed further in later sections. Parts Three, Four, Five, and Six deal with the four classes of questions to be asked of animal behavior- questions about development, mechanism, evolutionary history, and adaptive significance. The book concludes with a section on learning (Part Seven). The organization of Part Seven is parallel to, and restates, that of Parts One through Six, as it covers description, development, mechanisms, evolutionary history, and adaptive significance." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)