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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.
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 .
Instinctive behaviour is usually automatic and unplanned and is a natural reaction which often is preferred by the animal over learned and unnatural actions. [2] This instinctual drift was successfully avoided when they instead taught the raccoons to place a basketball into a basket.
Certain fixed action patterns developed out of motivation for survival. Instinct is an example of fixed action patterns. Any behavior is instinctive if it is performed in the absence of learning. Reflexes can be instincts. For example, a newborn baby instinctively knows to search for and suckle its mother's breast for nourishment.
Self-preservation is essentially the process of an organism preventing itself from being harmed or killed and is considered a basic instinct in most organisms. [6] Most call it a "survival instinct". Self-preservation is thought to be tied to an organism's reproductive fitness and can be more or less present according to perceived reproduction ...
A list of reflexes in humans.. Abdominal reflex; Accommodation reflex — coordinated changes in the vergence, lens shape and pupil size when looking at a distant object after a near object.
Instinctive altruism effectively enables individuals to guarantee the survival of the group, which in turn will aid the survival of the individual. In The Descent of Man , Darwin notes: [ 7 ] Actions regarded by savages, and were probably so regarded by primaeval man, are good or bad, solely as they obviously affect the welfare of the tribe ...
Instinctive: Controls faculties which are completely involuntary. This does not typically encompass "knee-jerk" reactions, nor what we would typically consider reflexes. A common example of the functioning of this center is the contracting of blood vessels to facilitate the pumping of blood. Sexual: Controls sexual functions.