In a kinesis, an organism is stimulated to movement by a particular stimulus
but the movement is in no particular direction. They just keep moving until the
stimulus is no longer present. In a taxis, the movement in response to the
stimulus is directional. They move in a direction that is related to location of
the stimulus (for example, moving in the direction of or away from a light). I
am indebted to James E. Mazur for the clarity of his explanation in the 3rd
edition of Learning and Behavior published in 1994 by Prentice-Hall. He also
provides some good examples.
Hope this helps,
Rick
Kirsten Rewey writes on 10 Sep 99,:
> Hi TIPsters!
>
> I'm returning to the list with a question. Can anyone explain the
> differences between a taxis and a kinesis? I'm using Domjan's *Principles
> of learning and behavior* (4th ed) and the difference isn't clear.
>
> Thanks much!
>
> Kirsten
>
> Kirsten L. Rewey
> Department of Psychology
> St. Mary's University of Minnesota
> 700 Terrace Heights, Box 1464
> Winona, Minnesota 55987
>
> (507) 457-6991
>
Dr. Rick Froman
Psychology Department
Box 3055
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.jbu.edu/sbs/psych
Office: (501)524-7295
Fax: (501)524-9548
"I can't promise to try but I'll try to try." --Bart Simpson
