In ethology, a stereotyped behavior pattern, the form of which is determined by a specific pattern of impulses generated in the central nervous system, and which is relatively uninfluenced by learning. A vacuum activity is the occurrence of a FAP in the apparent absence of its releaser or sign stimulus. In contemporary ethology, the term tends to be replaced by ‘modal action patterns‘ because of inevitable individual variations in behavior.
See Dustbathing, Ethology, Infantile responses, Innate (1), Innate releasing mechanism, Instinct (1), Instinct (2), Preyer-Tracy hypothesis of autogeneous motility