displacement activity

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displacement activity The behaviour of an animal which is or appears to be irrelevant to the situation in which it occurs and which may interrupt other activity. It may result from conflicting motivation, in which two motivations cancel one another, allowing a less urgent motivation (e.g. feeding) to dominate behaviour; or it may arise because the animal is prevented from attaining a goal, and the consequent frustration causes the attention to be switched to another stimulus to which it then responds.

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