ABSTRACT
Comment: Animal behaviorists consider objects from the viewpoints of both Humans and nonhuman animals. neutral object n. An object other than the focal one that an animal directs its action toward in a conflict situation (Immelmann and Beer 1989, 203). syn. substitute object (according to some authors, Immelmann and Beer 1989, 299) cf. behavior: displacement behavior
substitute object n. An object that can elicit an animal’s consummatory behavior in the absence of appropriate stimuli and without necessarily fulfilling its biological “need” that underlies this behavior (Heymer 1977, 63); e.g., a rat’s treating its own tail as nesting material when it is deprived of nesting material (Immelmann and Beer 1989, 203).
