The neural basis of innate behavior. III. Comparison of learning ability and instinctive behavior in the rat.

Abstract

Both [male] and [female] rats were given 30 trials on an 8 cul-de-sac parallel alley maze and subsequently tested for innate behavior. Maternal behavior of several kinds was tested in the [female] and copulatory behavior in the [male][male]. All tests were sufficiently reliable for group comparisons. The following conclusions are warranted from the data: Learning behavior and maternal behavior are positively associated; different forms of maternal behavior are positively associated; learning behavior and copulatory behavior are positively associated. Efficiency in the maternal behavior situations is partly due to modification of instinctive behavior through experience; this modification is thought to occur more frequently in the more intelligent animals. The positive association found between the learning and the innately-organized behavior is due to this common factor of intelligence.