Nesting Geese Behavior: Conditioning Response

Why do nesting geese roll softballs into their nests?

Is the behavior innate, a result of insight learning, habituation, or conditioned response?

Answer:

The behavior exhibited by nesting geese, where they roll softballs into their nests, is most likely a conditioned response. Conditioning refers to the process of learning associations between stimuli and responses. In this case, the geese have learned to associate the softballs with eggs that might have rolled out of their nests, leading them to roll the softballs back into their nests.

Conditioned learning best explains the behavior of the nesting geese in rolling softballs into their nests. This behavior is not likely to be innate because it is not instinctual for geese to recognize and respond to softballs specifically. It is also not an example of insight learning, which involves solving problems through sudden comprehension and understanding.

Habituation, which refers to a decrease in responsiveness to repeated or irrelevant stimuli, is not applicable in this scenario.