One Way to Understand How Early Environment Influences Differing Behaviors

question 7

Multiple Choice

One way to understand how early environment influences differing behaviors in similar species is through the "cross-fostering" experimental technique. Suppose that the curly-whiskered mud rat differs from the bald mud rat in several ways, including being much more aggressive. How would you set up a cross-fostering experiment to determine if environment plays a role in the curly-whiskered mud rat's aggression?

• A) You would cross curly-whiskered mud rats and bald mud rats and hand-rear the offspring to see if any grew up to be aggressive.
• B) You would place newborn curly-whiskered mud rats with bald mud rat parents, place newborn bald mud rats with curly-whiskered mud rat parents, and let some mud rats of both species be raised by their own species. Then you would compare the outcomes.
• C) You would remove the offspring of curly-whiskered mud rats and bald mud rats from their parents, raise them in the same environment, and then compare the outcomes.
• D) You would see if curly-whiskered mud rats bred true for aggression.
• E) You would replace normal newborn mud rats with deformed newborn mud rats to see if it triggered an altruistic response.

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Definitions:

Behavioral Therapies

Psychotherapeutic approaches that focus on identifying the reinforcements and punishments contributing to a person’s maladaptive behaviors and on changing specific behaviors.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Disorders characterized by severe and persisting impairment in several areas of development.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

A developmental disorder characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

A developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior, ranging from mild to severe.