Which statement about phylogenetic behaviors is accurate?

Which statement about phylogenetic behaviors is accurate?

• A. They are learned behaviors that vary with individuals
• B. They are innate, common to the species, and can be modified by experience
• C. They cannot be modified by experience
• D. They only occur in domesticated dogs

Answer: (B)

Phylogenetic (species-typical) behaviors are patterns that are inherited and shared by members of a species. They come from genetic programming and evolutionary history, so they are generally present across individuals, not something each dog has to learn from scratch. At the same time, their expression can be shaped by experience and environment, so learning or exposure can influence when, how strongly, or in what contexts these behaviors appear. That combination—innate and common to the species, with some plasticity from experience—is what makes the statement accurate. It reflects that these behaviors are not purely learned or unique to individuals, and they are not restricted to domesticated dogs. The other choices imply that phylogenetic behaviors are entirely learned, vary by individual, cannot be modified by experience, or occur only in domesticated dogs, which doesn’t fit how these instinctive patterns work.

Phylogenetic (species-typical) behaviors are patterns that are inherited and shared by members of a species. They come from genetic programming and evolutionary history, so they are generally present across individuals, not something each dog has to learn from scratch. At the same time, their expression can be shaped by experience and environment, so learning or exposure can influence when, how strongly, or in what contexts these behaviors appear.

That combination—innate and common to the species, with some plasticity from experience—is what makes the statement accurate. It reflects that these behaviors are not purely learned or unique to individuals, and they are not restricted to domesticated dogs. The other choices imply that phylogenetic behaviors are entirely learned, vary by individual, cannot be modified by experience, or occur only in domesticated dogs, which doesn’t fit how these instinctive patterns work.