All behaviour falls into two great classes. On the right, the Innate vs learned tab builds a comparison. Innate behaviour is inherited in the genes, the same in every individual, and done right the first time. Learned behaviour is modified by experience and differs between individuals. ▶ Play to stack up examples on each side — reflex, taxis, instinct on the left; habituation, conditioning, insight on the right.
Each column fills with its members. Innate: reflex, kinesis, taxis, instinct, fixed action patterns, migration — fast, reliable, ideal when there is no time to learn. Learned: habituation, imprinting, classical and operant conditioning, insight — flexible, letting the animal adjust to a changing world. ⏭ Step to add them one at a time, ↻ Reset to clear. Both kinds raise survival — they are adaptive.
Open the Taxis & kinesis tab. A small organism sits on a dish with a lamp on one side. Taxis is a directional response — the whole animal moves toward or away from the stimulus. ▶ Play and watch the organism crawl straight toward the light: this is positive phototaxis, like a moth drawn to a flame. The path is a clean, aimed line.
🔀 New flips the organism's response. Now ▶ Play: it crawls away from the lamp into the shade — negative phototaxis, like a maggot avoiding light. Compare this with kinesis (the wandering grey path): a woodlouse simply changes its speed and turning with how dry it is, with no set direction — yet it still ends up where conditions suit it.
Switch to the Conditioning tab. Food is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) — it naturally makes the dog salivate (the unconditioned response, UCR). The bell on its own is a neutral stimulus — ring it and nothing happens. ▶ Play the first stages and watch: bell alone → no saliva; food → saliva. This inborn reflex is where learning starts.
Now the key step. ▶ Play on to pair the bell with food, over and over — a glowing link forms between them as the dog associates the two. Finally the bell alone makes the dog salivate: the bell has become a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salivation a conditioned response (CR). ⏭ Step through each stage; ↻ Reset to untrain. Read the full Pavlov story, and operant conditioning, in the Lecture.