Final answer:
The false statement is that today, most scientists believe instinct is more important than environment in animal behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
The false statement is: Today, most scientists believe instinct is more important than environment in animal behavior.
While ethologists believe that animal behavior is based on instinct, and comparative behaviorists believe that it is based on the environment, current scientific understanding acknowledges that both nature and nurture play a role in animal behavior. This means that both innate behaviors (instinct) and learned behaviors are important and can be influenced by genetics and the environment.
In Pavlov's dog experiment, which is related to classical conditioning, Pavlov showed that animals can learn and modify their behavior based on environmental stimuli. This experiment supports the view that both nature and nurture concepts are important in animal behavior.