Every day at about 4:30, Jazz, a Hungarian Vizsla dog, leaps up on the sofa and looks out for his owner who always comes home at 5:00. He doesn't need an internal clock because he has an acute sense of smell that allows him to measure how long his master has been absent. Explaining complex behaviour in simple ways, this book is a fascinating exploration of the evolution, development and processes of learning in animals.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The evolution, development, and modification of behavior -- Variation and selection: kineses -- Reflexes -- Direct orientation and feedback -- Operant behavior -- Reward and punishment -- Feeding regulation: a model motivational system -- The optimal allocation of behavior -- Choice: dynamics and decision rules -- Foraging and behavioral ecology -- Stimulus control and cognition -- Stimulus control and performance -- Molar laws -- Time and memory, I -- Time and memory, II -- Template learning -- Learning, I -- Models of classical conditioning -- Learning, II -- Learning, III: procedures -- Comparative cognition