Editing Instinct (section)

==Early theorists==
[[File:Greifreflex.JPG|thumb|right|220px|[[Primitive reflex]]es]]

=== Jean Henri Fabre ===
[[Jean Henri Fabre]] (1823–1915) is said to be the first person to study small animals (other than birds) and insects, and he specifically specialized in the instincts of insects.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Pasteur |first=Georges |date=July 1994 |title=Jean Henri Fabre |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0794-74 |journal=Scientific American |volume= 271|issue= 1|pages=74–80 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0794-74 |bibcode=1994SciAm.271a..74P |s2cid=43232778 |issn=0036-8733|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Citation |last=Wheeler |first=William Morton |title=Jean-Henri Fabre |date=1916 |url=https://doi.org/10.1037/h0070333 |pages=74–80 |journal=Journal of Animal Behavior |volume=6 |doi=10.1037/h0070333 |access-date=2022-05-07|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Fabre considered an instinct to be a linked set of behaviours that an organism undergoes unconsciously in response to external conditions.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Yavetz |first=Ido |date=1988 |title=Jean Henri Fabre and Evolution: Indifference or Blind Hatred? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23328997 |journal=History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=3–36 |jstor=23328997 |issn=0391-9714}}</ref>

==== Insect and animal behaviour ====
Fabre concluded a significant difference between humans and other animals is that most animals cannot reason.<ref name=":4" /> He came to this conclusion after observing how insects and wild birds continued to repeat a certain behaviour in response to a novel situation.<ref name=":4" /> While these instinctive behaviours appeared complex, the insects and animals did not adjust their behaviour despite it not helping them in that novel situation.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" />

The following are some insect and animal behaviours that Fabre observed and labelled "instinctive",<ref name=":4" /> for they do not involve reasoning:
* Maternal instincts
* [[Metamorphosis]]
* [[Mimicry]]
* Molting
* Playing dead
* [[Taxis]]

==== Fixed patterns ====
Fabre believed instincts were "fixed patterns", meaning these linked sets of behaviours do not change in response to novel environmental situations.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Raffles |first=Hugh |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedinsec00raff |title=Insectopedia |publisher=Pantheon Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-375-42386-4 |location=New York}}</ref> One specific example that helped him arrive at this conclusion is his study of various wasp species.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> All of the wasp species he studied performed a certain pattern of behaviour when catching their prey, which Fabre called a fixed pattern.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> Then Fabre intervened in the wasps' process of catching prey, and only one of the species adjusted their behaviour in response to this unfamiliar interception.<ref name=":6" /> Fabre explained this contradiction by arguing that any individuals which stray from the norms of their species are merely an exception,<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> while also admitting that there could be some room for growth within a species' instincts.<ref name=":6" />

Fabre's belief that instincts are fixed opposes the theory of evolution. He rejected that one species could evolve into another, and also rejected that human consciousness could be achieved through the evolution of unconscious traits.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" />

=== Wilhelm Wundt ===
[[Wilhelm Wundt]] (1832–1920) is known for founding the first psychology laboratory, which occurred in 1879 at the University of Leipzig.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kim |first=Alan |title=Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt |date=2016 |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2016/entries/wilhelm-wundt/ |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |edition=Fall 2016 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=2022-05-06}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Munger |first=Margaret P. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/49558592 |title=The History of Psychology: Fundamental Questions |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=0-19-515154-2 |pages=296–308 |oclc=49558592}}</ref> He was able to draw conclusions about instinct from his careful observations of both animal and human behaviour.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Wassmann |first=C. |date=2008-10-23 |title=Physiological Optics, Cognition and Emotion: A Novel Look at the Early Work of Wilhelm Wundt |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrn058 |journal=Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=213–249 |doi=10.1093/jhmas/jrn058 |pmid=18948411 |issn=0022-5045|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==== Unconscious processes ====
Wundt believed unconscious processes (which he called "instinctive movements") were the result of sensations and emotions, and these unconscious processes were building blocks towards [[consciousness]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |first=Jochen |last=Fahrenberg |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1164647262 |title=Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920): Introduction, Quotations, Reception, Commentaries, Attempts at Reconstruction |year=2019 |isbn=978-3-95853-574-9 |pages=35–63 |publisher=Pabst Science Publishers |oclc=1164647262}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Hamlin |first=Alice Julia |date=1897 |title=IV.—An Attempt at a Psychology of Instinct |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mind/vi.1.59 |journal=Mind |volume=VI |issue=1 |pages=59–70 |doi=10.1093/mind/vi.1.59 |issn=0026-4423}}</ref>

==== Facial expressions ====
An example of what Wundt studied to arrive at his conclusions regarding unconscious processes includes the facial expressions babies made in response to the sensations of sweet, sour, and bitter tastes.<ref name=":1" /> He concluded these facial expressions were the result of the babies trying to avoid unpleasant emotions because there was something unpleasant in their mouths, and that these instincts (which he uses interchangeably with reflexive movements) only became innate because past generations learned it and it benefited their survival.<ref name=":1" />

==== Natural selection ====
The process by which Wundt explained the existence of instincts is [[natural selection]]. More specifically, his research suggests natural selection causes small changes in the nervous system over time.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> These changes bring about hereditary drives in organisms, which are then responsible for any unconscious processes.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> Another thing to note is that Wundt used the terms ''unconscious processes'', ''reflexive movements'', and ''instinctive movements'' interchangeably, often grouping them together.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

=== Sigmund Freud ===
Sigmund Freud considered that mental images of bodily needs, expressed in the form of mental [[desire]]s, are called instincts.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hjelle |first1=Larry |last2=Ziegler |first2=Daniel |title=Personality Theories: Basic Assumptions, Research, and Applications |date=1981 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=9780070290631 |page=494}}</ref>

Freud defines instincts as "biological forces that motivate individuals to satisfy their needs." He divides them into life instincts (Eros), which are focused on survival, reproduction, and pleasure, and death instincts (Thanatos), which are associated with aggression and self-destruction. Freud emphasizes the importance of these instincts in shaping human behavior and personality development.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Freud |first=S. |date=1920 |title=Beyond the Pleasure Principle |url=https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Freud_Beyond_P_P.pdf |journal=London: The Hogarth Press.}}</ref>

=== William McDougall ===
In the early 20th century, there was recognized a "union of instinct and emotion".<ref>James Rowland Angell (1906). "The Important Human Instincts", Chapter 16 in ''Psychology: An Introductory Study of the Structure and Function of Human Consciousness'', third edition, revised. New York: Henry Holt and Company. https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Angell/Angell_1906/Angell_1906_p.html</ref> [[William McDougall (psychologist)|William McDougall]] held that many instincts have their respective associated specific [[emotion]]s.<ref>McDougall, W. (1928). ''An Introduction to Social Psychology'', 21st edition, Methuen & Co. Ltd, London, p. vii.</ref> As research became more rigorous and terms better defined, instinct as an explanation for human behaviour became less common. In 1932, McDougall argued that the word ''instinct'' is more suitable for describing animal behaviour, while he recommended the word ''[[wiktionary:propensity|propensity]]'' for goal-directed combinations of the many innate human abilities, which are loosely and variably linked, in a way that shows strong plasticity.<ref>McDougall, W. (1932). ''The Energies of Men: A Study of the Fundamentals of Dynamic Psychology'', second edition,  Methuen & Co. Ltd, London, p. 99.</ref>
McDougall defines instincts as "innate, inherited tendencies that guide behavior in a particular direction." He views instincts as the fundamental forces that influence human motivation and behavior. According to McDougall, instincts are biologically ingrained and provide the primary source of motivation for various human actions.

==== John B. Watson ====
Watson (1924) approaches instincts from a behaviorist perspective, claiming that "instincts are complex, pre-programmed behaviors that can be conditioned into learned responses." While Watson acknowledges the existence of some innate behaviors, he argues that the majority of human behavior is learned through interaction with the environment, rather than being primarily driven by instinct.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watson John B. |url=https://archive.org/details/behaviorism032636mbp/page/n29/mode/2up |title=Behaviorism |date= |publisher=Kegan Paul Trench Trubner And Company Limited. |others=Osmania University, Digital Library Of India}}</ref>

=== Abraham Maslow ===
In the 1950s, the psychologist [[Abraham Maslow]] argued that humans no longer have instincts because we have the ability to override them in certain situations. He felt that what is called instinct is often imprecisely defined, and really amounts to strong "drives". For Maslow, an instinct is something which cannot be overridden, and therefore while the term may have applied to humans in the past, it no longer does.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maslow |first=Abraham H. |title=Motivation and Personality |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1954 |location=New York |chapter=Instinct Theory Reexamined |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/motivationperson00masl_0 |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>

=== Konrad Lorenz ===
An interest in innate behaviours arose again in the 1950s with [[Konrad Lorenz]] and [[Nikolaas Tinbergen]], who made the distinction between instinct and learned behaviours.  Our modern understanding of instinctual behaviour in animals owes much to their work.  For instance, there exists a sensitive period for a bird in which it learns the identity of its mother. Konrad Lorenz famously had a goose [[imprinting (psychology)|imprint]] on his boots. Thereafter the goose would follow whoever wore the boots. This suggests that the identity of the goose's mother was learned, but the goose's behaviour towards what it perceived as its mother was instinctive.

=== Frank Beach ===
In a conference in 1960, chaired by [[Frank Beach]], a pioneer in [[comparative psychology]], and attended by luminaries in the field, the term ''instinct'' was restricted in its application.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} During the 1960s and 1970s, textbooks still contained some discussion of instincts in reference to human behaviour.  By the year 2000, a survey of the 12 best selling textbooks in introductory psychology revealed only one reference to instincts, and that was in regard to [[Sigmund Freud]]'s referral to the "[[Id, ego, and super-ego#Id|id]]" instincts.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} In this sense, the term ''instinct'' appeared to have become outmoded for introductory textbooks on human psychology.

The book ''Instinct: An Enduring Problem in Psychology'' (1961)<ref>Birney, R.&nbsp;C., Teevan, R.&nbsp;C. (1961). ''Instinct: An Enduring Problem in Psychology'', Van Nostrand, Princeton, New Jersey.{{page needed|date=March 2019}}</ref> selected a range of writings about the topic.

=== Richard Herrnstein ===
In a classic paper published in 1972,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Nature as Nurture: Behaviorism and the Instinct Doctrine |first=R.&nbsp;J. |last=Herrnstein |journal=Behaviorism |year=1972 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=23–52 |jstor=27758791 }}</ref> the psychologist [[Richard Herrnstein]] wrote: "A comparison of McDougall's theory of instinct and Skinner's [[reinforcement theory]]—representing nature and nurture—shows remarkable, and largely unrecognized, similarities between the contending sides in the [[Nature versus nurture|nature–nurture debate]] as applied to the analysis of behavior."

F.&nbsp;B. Mandal proposed a set of criteria by which a behaviour might be considered instinctual: (a)&nbsp;be automatic, (b)&nbsp;be irresistible, (c)&nbsp;occur at some point in development, (d)&nbsp;be triggered by some event in the environment, (e)&nbsp;occur in every member of the species, (f)&nbsp;be unmodifiable, and (g)&nbsp;govern behaviour for which the organism needs no training (although the organism may profit from experience and to that degree the behaviour is modifiable).<ref>{{cite book|title=Textbook of Animal Behaviour|last=Mandal|first=F.&nbsp;B.|publisher=PHI Learning|year=2010|isbn=978-81-203-4035-0|page=47}}</ref>

In ''Information Behavior: An Evolutionary Instinct'' (2010, pp.&nbsp;35–42), Amanda Spink notes that "currently in the behavioral sciences instinct is generally understood as the innate part of behavior that emerges without any training or education in humans." She claims that the viewpoint that information behaviour has an instinctive basis is grounded in the latest thinking on human behaviour. Furthermore, she notes that "behaviors such as cooperation, sexual behavior, child rearing and aesthetics are [also] seen as 'evolved psychological mechanisms' with an instinctive basis."<ref>{{cite book |last=Buss |first=D. |title=Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind |location=Boston |publisher=Allyn & Bacon |edition=3rd |year=2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dickens |first1=W.&nbsp;T. |last2=Cohen |first2=J.&nbsp;L. |chapter=Instinct and Choice: A Framework for Analysis |editor-last=Garcia Coll |editor-first=C. |title=Nature and Nurture: The Complex Interplay of Genetic and Environmental Influences on Human Behavior and Development |location=Mahwah, New Jersey |publisher=Erlbaum |year=2003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Geary |first=D.&nbsp;C. |title=The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=American Psychological Association |year=2004 }}</ref> Spink adds that [[Steven Pinker]] similarly asserts that language acquisition is instinctive in humans in his book ''[[The Language Instinct]]'' (1994). In 1908, [[William McDougall (psychologist)|William McDougall]] wrote about the "instinct of curiosity" and its associated "emotion of wonder",<ref>McDougall, W. (1928). ''An Introduction to Social Psychology'', 21st edition, Methuen & Co. Ltd, London, p. xxii.</ref> though Spink's book does not mention this.

M.&nbsp;S. Blumberg in 2017 examined the use of the word instinct, and found it varied significantly.<ref name="Blumberg 2017"/>