Editing Instinct (section)

=== 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>