An innate tendency to behave in a particular way that does not depend on particular learning experiences for its development and which serves important adaptive functions across species and developmental time frames. An example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (movements once started that are performed in a stereotyped way, unaffected by external stimulation). Compare with contrasting definition provided in Instinct (1).
See Ethology, Fixed action pattern (FAP), Innate (1), Innate (2), Innate (3), Instinct (1), Intrapsychic conflict, Nativism