Earth Science: Biology – Ethology
Ethology is the study of animal or human behavior. A relatively new branch of biology, the field of ethology first had to concern itself with developing methods to attain objective and reproducible results.
The foremost questions for ethologists today include determining which forms of behavior are genetically determined, or inborn, and which are learned as a result of individual experiences.
Researchers are also attempting to discover the causes of behavior, what internal and external factors lead to certain behaviors, and what forms of social interaction have been developed by different species or social groups.