Instinct

Instinct is a term used to describe a set of behaviors that are both innate and patterned. Instinct is an inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behavior. The simplest example of an instinct is the mothering instinct, which is present in most species.

Definition

The term instinct is often used to refer to a set of behaviors that are both innate and patterned. These behaviors are not learned, but rather, they are biologically programmed into an organism. This means that an organism will perform these behaviors even if it has never been exposed to the specific situation in which the behaviors are typically performed.

Examples

There are many examples of instinctual behaviors in animals. For example, many birds will instinctively build nests when they are ready to lay eggs, even if they have never seen another bird build a nest before. Similarly, many mammals have a mothering instinct that causes them to care for their young, even if they have never been exposed to young of their own species before.

Instinct vs. Learned Behavior

It is important to distinguish between instinctual behaviors and learned behaviors. While instinctual behaviors are biologically programmed into an organism and are performed without prior experience, learned behaviors are those that an organism acquires through experience. For example, a bird may learn to associate the color red with food if it is repeatedly fed red food items. This is a learned behavior, not an instinctual one.

See Also

• Behavior
• Innate Behavior
• Learned Behavior
• Animal Behavior

References

Instinct Resources
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