Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Behavior Therapy01:22

Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapy incorporates diverse techniques rooted in classical conditioning principles to address maladaptive behaviors and anxiety disorders. These methods aim to reduce avoidance behaviors, foster adaptive coping mechanisms, and alter associations between stimuli and responses, making them effective in a wide range of therapeutic contexts.
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
Behavior Modification01:21

Behavior Modification

Behavioral approaches have often been criticized for ignoring mental processes and focusing solely on observable behavior. However, these approaches provide an optimistic perspective for individuals seeking to change their behaviors. Rather than concentrating on intrinsic personality traits, behavioral approaches suggest that even longstanding habits can be modified by changing the reward contingencies that maintain them.
A real-world application of operant conditioning principles is applied...
Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.Although predation is commonly associated with carnivory, for...
Behaviorism01:28

Behaviorism

The field of behaviorism was pioneered by figures such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner fundamentally shifted the focus of psychology to the observable and controllable aspects of human and animal behavior. This shift marked a critical evolution in the discipline, emphasizing scientific rigor and experimental methodology.
The core premise of behaviorism is its focus on observable behavior rather than internal thoughts or feelings. This approach argues that true scientific...
What is Behavior?00:54

What is Behavior?

Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.
Operant Conditioning Intervention01:24

Operant Conditioning Intervention

Operant conditioning serves as a foundational principle in therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying maladaptive behaviors. Central to this approach is the notion that behaviors, both adaptive and maladaptive, are learned through reinforcement. By analyzing the environmental factors that reinforce problematic behaviors, clinicians can design interventions to weaken these reinforcements and replace maladaptive behaviors with healthier alternatives.
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Exploring a world turned upside down: a shift to egocentric navigation.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

There Is No Place Like Home: Behavioral and Physical Home Traits in Humans and Other Animals.

Bioscience·2026
Same author

Abdominally targeted physical exercises as a therapeutic intervention for inflammatory bowel diseases.

Journal of science and medicine in sport·2025
Same author

Post-Hatching Development of Posture and Behavior in the Barn Owl (<i>Tyto alba</i>): From a General Behavioral Pattern of Vertebrates to the Typical Owl Behavior.

Biology·2024
Same author

Tactile cues compensate for unbalanced vestibular cues during progression on inclined surfaces.

Behavioural processes·2024
Same author

Metabolically Healthy Obesity Is a Misnomer: Components of the Metabolic Syndrome Linearly Increase with BMI as a Function of Age and Gender.

Biology·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
09:12

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

Published on: July 4, 2013

Threat detection: behavioral practices in animals and humans.

David Eilam1, Rony Izhar, Joel Mort

  • 1Department of Zoology, Tel-Aviv University, Klausner St., Ramat-Aviv 69978, Israel. eilam@post.tau.ac.il

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|August 24, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Anxiety and vigilance are triggered by abstract threats, not just immediate dangers. This study reveals that anxiety is contagious in social animals, influencing group behavior and precautionary actions.

More Related Videos

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2026

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
09:12

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

Published on: July 4, 2013

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Neuroscience
  • Evolutionary Psychology

Background:

  • Abstract threats elicit anxiety and vigilance, distinct from responses to perceptible dangers.
  • Group size typically correlates inversely with individual vigilance, a measure of anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the contagious nature of anxiety in grouped social animals.
  • To explore the role of anxiety in human rituals and precautionary behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Observational studies on social animals to assess anxiety contagion.
  • Analysis of human behavior, particularly anxiety-driven rituals in mental disorders.

Main Results:

  • Anxiety is demonstrated to be contagious within groups of social animals.
  • Anxiety in humans often manifests as rituals, which can reduce functionality in sustained anxiety disorders.

Conclusions:

  • Precautionary behaviors, including rituals, offer adaptive benefits by allowing safe practice of defensive strategies.
  • The widespread occurrence of anxiety in humans and animals aligns with the 'better safe than sorry' principle.