Animals respond to input from their inner and outer environment with physiological and behavioral changes. They try to maintain a stable state by reacting to disturbances of the inner and outer world: Umwelt. Under natural conditions an animal can predict and control its Umwelt. However, in intensive housing systems this is more difficult. In trying to find solutions for the lack of control many animals develop "problem" behavior. In this report, several examples of studies into the causation and function of 'problem' behavior are presented. The Observer was used in a number of studies.

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