Editing Instinct (section)

=== 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" />