Instincts or drives are innate driving bases for certain behaviors. Instinctual behavior occurs outside of mental control and is embedded in the central nervous system via reflexes, for example. In humans, the innate order of instincts is subordinate to the social order.
What are the instincts?
Instinctual behavior takes place outside of mental control and is embedded in the central nervous system via reflexes, for example. Instincts are also called natural drives. They are not learned, but innate. They are internal drive bases for stereotyped and rigid behaviors that proceed without reflected control. These behaviors can be observed mainly in animals. But also humans sometimes act spontaneously and without reflection on the basis of a certain “feeling”. Otto von Klineberg calls only behavior patterns instinctive patterns, which occur in humans of every culture, are independent of imprinting and have a physiological or biochemical anchorage in the organism. Instinctive behavior thus means patterns of behavior that humans display outside of conscious thought. Instinctual behavior is triggered by a specific perceptual stimulus, also known as a key stimulus. With the drive theory, psychology assumes innate drives and basic needs of humans. In this context, the concept of survival instinct plays an increased role.
Function and task
Migratory birds are drawn to the south. Bees are automatically drawn to build honeycomb. These behavioral patterns are behavioral schemes of infallible instinct. In animals, an inner cause that makes them seek out certain situations can be observed as the motivation for instinctual behavior. This connection is also called appetence behavior. According to this appetence behavior, animals display stereotypical behavior patterns, which are called instinct reactions. For example, if appetence behavior drives them to seek a nesting site, they will stereotypically begin nesting as soon as they find a nesting site. The processes of instinct behavior are embedded in the nervous system. This is also true for instinct behavior in humans. Each instinct behavior consists of individual instinct movements. Man feels his instinct as an involuntary urge or immediate tendency to do something specific. An inner restlessness sets in. The body controls the individual instinct movements. As long as the body’s readiness to act is present, reflexive behavioral sequences can occur. The stimulus-reflex scheme of the human being is thus to a large extent innate and instinctive. The body thus automatically prevents danger. Innate reflexes of this kind are also called unconditioned reflexes. For example, when humans perceive an object flying directly at them, they instinctively protect their own heads. This instinctive reflex is independent of his consciousness and corresponds to an automatic response of the brain to a certain danger stimulus. Instincts and unconditional, instinctive reflexes are consequently integrated into the human nervous system. Other examples are food intake, breathing or sneezing. However, humans also develop conditional reflexes during their lives. This means that they are capable of learning and acquire new reflexes in contact with their environment. This is what distinguishes humans from insects. Their instinctive behavior remains unaffected by learning behavior over a lifetime. On the basis of their learning behavior, humans can even break the habit of certain instinctual actions. The given order of their instincts is thus subordinated to a social order in the course of life. In dangerous situations, for example, people feel an inner restlessness in the form of a racing heart and sweating, which actually wants to trigger the flight impulse. However, an adult human being usually resists this flight impulse. The instinctive behavior is thus suppressed at will. During infancy, on the other hand, people often perform instinctual actions. They instinctively suckle at their mother’s breast, for example. Touching an infant’s mouth with a finger triggers a sucking reflex. This behavior is innate and takes place as part of the survival instinct. Although many instinctive behaviors have already been lost in adulthood, some scientists assume that, among other things, aggression and striving for rank are human instincts.Many decisions would thus no longer be conscious decisions, but instinctual actions. However, this theory is very controversial and there are results that locate the cause of this behavior in social cultural elements. Thus, it is difficult to distinguish instincts from learned behavior exactly. Mostly, it is probably an interplay.
Diseases and ailments
The instincts and drives of man play an increased role with regard to psychoanalysis. As described, man suppresses certain instinctual behaviors for the sake of social order. He suppresses voluntarily on the basis of inner drives, for example, his violent instinct and his unrestrained sexual instinct, because otherwise he could not live in society. However, drive suppression can also take place involuntarily. According to Freud’s theories, involuntary suppression of certain drives is the most common cause of mental illness. Neurosis, for example, according to Freud, is almost always said to be due to imposed relinquishment of drives. Thus, neurosis is said to be rooted in faulty sexual development that has forced the child to suppress its own drive desires and feelings. The drive desires would thus be repressed into the unconscious and, out of control, lead to deviation from the original goal and the formation of neurotic behavior patterns. Drives can thus no longer show themselves openly in the process described, but remain behaviorally effective and seek substitute satisfactions. In the meantime, however, many of Freud’s theories have come under heavy criticism.
