How do animal instincts work? Here is an example. The cuckoo lays its eggs in other people’s nests. But the birds they lay eggs cannot starve someone else’s chick. The fact is that it is the squeak of the chicks that triggers the maternal instinct in the bird.
Accordingly, the instinct is distinguished by several features. It is automatic and insurmountable, caused by a specific event, does not need to be taught, manifests itself in all representatives of the species and occurs at any stage of development, is considered irreplaceable. And if an action does not meet at least one criterion, then it is not connected with instincts.
If you look closely at the traits listed above, you can see that humans have no instincts. So-called instinctive actions are not characteristic of all representatives of the species (that is, all people). For example, there is no maternal instinct because there are so many abandoned children in the world.
The closest thing a person has is reflexes. For example, if you press on the palm of a small child, they will immediately squeeze their fingers. The same goes for the gag reflex. Reflex is different from instinct because it is the body’s response to a simple stimulus and instinct needs several stimuli at the same time for it to work.
Source: Ferra
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