Listen to part of a lecture on this topic in a zoology class.
(man) Let's start with an example you may be familiar with. What's one thing dogs typically do when they feel threatened? They want to protect themselves. That's right, they show their teeth. And when we see this, we know this behavior means basicallyThis scenario, repeated time after time also led to the dog's awareness that simply showing its teeth, a lot of the time that was protection enough. What had been a simple preparation to bite had developed into a kind of defense mechanism in and of itself. The dog learned that it did not need to actually attack; but could get the right result by communicating the possibility of attack through showing its teeth. It started to use this behavior as a warning signal.
Explain the concept of rituatization using the example of dogs discussed by the professor.
The lecture mainly talks about ritualization, a process by which a practical behavior in animals develops into a communicative one. The professor uses the example of dogs showing their teeth to explain it. Originally, dogs showed their teeth before they were going to bite to avoid biting their own lips. Then other animals learned that dogs always showed their teeth before they bit, so they began to read it as a warning signal and they would stay away the dogs after they saw this. As this happened again and again, the dog realized that it didn't have to bite to protect itself, and showing teeth is enough to keep other animals away, so they began to use it as a warning signal. This is how the dog showing its teeth has been ritualized. (132 words)
