Читать книгу The Behavior of Animals - Группа авторов - Страница 24

The study of the behavior of animals has grown into a highly diverse set of approaches and disciplines. Its subject area ranges from molecules and neurons to individuals and populations. One of Tinbergen’s major contributions to the study of animal behavior has been to make its goals explicit and clarify four types of questions that can be asked of behavior: causation, development, survival value, and evolution. In this book we strongly advocate Tinbergen’s position that behavior can only be understood through research on all four questions. In addition, we suggest that it should be made clear which of Tinbergen’s questions is addressed when a behavioral problem is investigated: a problem in one domain should not be investigated with concepts from another. The early chapters in this book examine primarily causal, mechanistic, and developmental questions, while the latter chapters examine survival value and evolution issues. But examples in many chapters also illustrate that multiple approaches are necessary for understanding a problem, affirming Tinbergen’s view.