Innate versus learned behaviour: an argument

Innate vs. Learned Behavior

According to the University of Illinois at Chicago innate behavior is fixed through developmental processes. It does not matter what environment one has been brought up in, all individuals that "…can exhibit the [innate] behavior do exhibit the behavior" (www.uic.edu). That said, this definition doesn't mean that the environment does not play a role in innate behavior, because it does; innate behaviors are "triggered by a stimulus" that "must occur within the context of the animal's environment" (www.uic.edu).

As to learned behaviors, they are formed and modified by experience; however, there is no "hard and fast distinction between the two," the UIC definition continues. There are ample number of learned behaviors that are "strongly pre-determined chronology (i.e., language learning) and many 'innate' behaviors are improved by experience (i.e., parasitoid foraging) (www.uic.edu).

Meanwhile the North Caroline State University Entomology Department explains that Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and within that study scientists study learned and innate behaviors of animals. Innate behavior is "genetically programmed," the NCSU site explains. The "suite of behaviors" that an animal has is encoded in the DNA possessed by the animal and passed from "generation to generation" (that is the "heritable" pare of innate behavior). The "intrinsic" aspect of innate behavior is even present in animals that are totally isolated from others in their species, hence it is easy to prove that certain behaviors are innate and are handed down through generational processes (NCSU).

The "stereotypic" aspect of innate behaviors are there for the researcher to see because those innate behaviors will be "performed in the same way each time by each individual" animal; and the "inflexible" part of innate behavior, according to NCSU is proven by the fact that those innate animal behaviors are "not modified by development or experience." This last aspect goes against what the University of Chicago at Illinois posited -- that innate behaviors can in fact be "triggered by a stimulus" from the animal's environment.

Regarding learned behaviors, the NCSU explanation is that "Learning can be defined as a persistent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience"; the animal's first acts and instincts are innate but as time goes on, it "acquires new skills and knowledge through trial and error" (NCSU).

Learned vs. Innate Behaviors

When two people are discussing the genetic makeup of dogs, and how that affects dogs' behavior, they should know that they are engaged in a "nature vs. nurture" debate that has been going on for centuries. The Petsmart.com dog training page asserts that "All behavior is affected by both genetics (nature) and by the environment (nurture). Typically an innate behavior can be shown "without the benefit of, or need for, prior experience. Chewing, for example, is innate (no one needs to teach them chewing, whether they are chewing mom's slippers or the dry dog food in their bowl); but that dog can be taught what to chew and what not to chew, so both innate and learned behaviors come into play in this context.