Why do you think this is so natural for people to be interested and related to others behavior? Is there some adaptive benefit to this behavior? What is an example of how this imitative behavior could also be problematic?
In behavioral ecology an adaptive behavior is a behavior which contributes directly or indirectly to an individual's survival or reproductive success and is thus subject to the forces of natural selection.[1] Examples include favoring kin in [ altruistic behaviors, female selection of the most fit male, and defending a territory or harem from rivals.
Conversely, a non-adaptive behavior is a behavior or trait that is counterproductive to an individual's survival or reproductive success. These might include altruistic behaviors which do not favor kin, adoption of unrelated young, and being a
subordinate in a dominance hierarchy.
Adaptations are commonly defined as evolved solutions to recurrent environmental problems of survival and reproduction[2]. Individual differences commonly arise through both heritable and nonheritable adaptive behavior. Both have been proven to be influential in the evolution of species adaptive behaviors, although heritable adaptation remains a controversial subjectThere is a controversial debate associated with ecological adaptive behavior, regarding whether there is a biological component associated with the learning process in animals. Many researchers suggest that there is integration between biological and psychological disciplines; however others believe that the nonheritable component is strictly psychological, and argue that nonheritable traits cannot evolve over successive generations ]
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Asked 5/4/2012 10:51:19 AM
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