Instinct

Instinct is the inherent inclination of a <a href="/facts/Life/DNw7NUId">living</a> <a href="/facts/Organism/j8JkL09u">organism</a> towards a particular complex <a href="/facts/Behavior/0Y1VqmVX">behaviour</a>, containing innate (inborn) elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a <a href="/facts/Fixed_action_pattern/4SEu9MaM">fixed action pattern</a> (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. 
Any behaviour is instinctive if it is performed without being based upon prior experience (that is, in the absence of <a href="/facts/Learning/lehEKRjC">learning</a>),[dubious – discuss] and is therefore an expression of innate biological factors. <a href="/facts/Sea_turtle/74lTgK3I">Sea turtles</a>, newly hatched on a beach, will instinctively move toward the ocean. A <a href="/facts/Marsupial/zN5s4bMq">marsupial</a> climbs into its mother's pouch upon being born. Other examples include animal fighting, animal <a href="/facts/Courtship_display/U8Jl6SFq">courtship</a> behaviour, internal escape functions, and the building of <a href="/facts/Nest/7tq5lt4V">nests</a>. Though an instinct is defined by its invariant innate characteristics, details of its performance can be changed by experience; for example, a dog can improve its listening skills by practice.
Instincts are inborn complex patterns of behaviour that exist in most members of the species, and should be distinguished from <a href="/facts/Reflex/codE8Eff">reflexes</a>, which are simple responses of an organism to a specific stimulus, such as the contraction of the pupil in response to bright light or the spasmodic movement of the lower leg when the knee is tapped. The absence of volitional capacity must not be confused with an inability to modify fixed action patterns. For example, people may be able to modify a stimulated fixed action pattern by consciously recognizing the point of its activation and simply stop doing it, whereas animals without a sufficiently strong volitional capacity may not be able to disengage from their fixed action patterns, once activated.
Instinctual behaviour in humans has been studied.

Instinct open-in-new

Instinct