Investigation of animal behavior in conditions of novelty.

To a large extent, crisis of zoopsychology is resulted from the failure of experimental and observational date, obtained under domestic methodological ground (activity theory). In this paper we review the investigations of animal behavior in conditions of novelty of different kinds, studied in the laboratory of zoopsychology of Department of Psychology in 1980—1990 (e.g. examinations of development of rats and mice exploratory behavior in “open field” (different modification); mice and rats behavioral patterns in response to novelty depend on the animal rank; and exploratory behavior of outdoor, semicommensal and commensal mice and voles in “dwelling room”). Exploratory behavior as a subject of investigation and its analysis may provide necessary date for understanding and demonstration psychical activity in animals.