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Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing innate (inborn) elements.The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a corresponding clearly defined stimulus.
Early behaviourists, like B.F. Skinner, tended to the blank slate model and argued that innate behaviors and instincts were few, some behaviourists suggesting that the only innate behavior was the ability to learn. [4]
"Fixed action pattern" is an ethological term describing an instinctive behavioral sequence that is highly stereotyped and species-characteristic. [1] Fixed action patterns are said to be produced by the innate releasing mechanism, a "hard-wired" neural network, in response to a sign/key stimulus or releaser.
It posits that subsequent selection might reinforce the originally learned behaviors, if adaptive, into more in-born, instinctive ones. Though this process appears similar to Lamarckism, that view proposes that living things inherited their parents' acquired characteristics. The Baldwin effect only posits that learning ability, which is ...
Classical vs. Operant Conditioning. A learned behavior is one that does not come from instincts- it is created by practice or experiences. [2] Learned behavior can be controlled by two systems- reflective or reflexive, which in turn create cognitive learning and habitual learning. [2]
A behavior may be learned socially, but the fact that it was learned socially does not necessarily mean it will last. The fact that the behavior is rewarding has a role in cultural stability as well. The ability for socially-learned behaviors to stabilize across generations is also mitigated by the complexity of the behavior.
Instinctive drift can be discussed in association with evolution. [11] Evolution is commonly classified as change occurring over a period of time. [ 11 ] Instinctive drift says that animals will behave in accordance with evolutionary contingencies, as opposed to operant contingencies of their specific training. [ 11 ]
Instinct is often misinterpreted as intuition. Its reliability is dependent on past knowledge and occurrences in a specific area. [dubious – discuss] For example, someone who has had more experience with children will tend to have better instincts about what they should do in certain situations with them. This is not to say that one with a ...