Why Can't the passage of acquired behavior be considered acquired inheritance? While reading about a cross-fostering experiment conducted on Male California mice and Peromyscus californicus, I came across the fact that the behavior acquired by a generation of mice due to foster-parents is transferred to the next generation as the next generation also gets the same amount of parental-care and attention as the first. As we can say that behavior is also a character in a way (and is influenced by genes as well as environment), wouldn't the transfer of such behavior over time (if the mice bred by foster parents were positively selected for) be considered 'inheritance of acquired characters?'

Yes, a behaviour is definitely a phenotypic trait.

Some acquired trait (typically behavioural traits but not only) can indeed be transmitted to a few future generations. But make sure to understand the mechanism. I can think of 3 different mechanisms:

* epigenetics

* covariance between parent fitness and offspring fitness (within one genotype and one environment) typically due to to parental care.

* Transmission of tradition (in the broad sense). A tradition is also sometimes called a meme.




One will need a link to the specific paper you are reading to know what mechanism is in play in the study you are reading.