THE INTERACTION BETWEEN GENETIC AND EXPERIENTIAL INFLUENCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIES-TYPICAL BEHAVIOR

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Abstract
The old argument of "nature versus nurture" is briefly discussed and the conclusion drawn that all behavior is essen-tially genetically based but that various degrees and kinds of dependence upon experiences of various sorts (and operating on animals at certain times in their lives) has evolved as a result of natural selection as has all of the other features an animal may possess. It is not fruitful to ask whether a given behavior is learned or innate. We have found that behavioral analysis at the "act" level as proposed by Russell is particularly useful in working on problems concerned with behavioral acquisition. Various behavioral deviations, the result of abnormal genotypes and/or experimental influences, can be identified easier, measured more precisely, and analysed more meaningfully than is possible by working with whole "behaviors" which ordinarily include many acts.

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