instinct
Enable an AI agent to recognise a proposed instinct, assess evidence for its origin and current expression, and identify justified responses without treating an instinctive impulse as an instruction.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 16 findings · 28 questions
Instinct attribution Defines the proposed disposition and the grounds for calling it instinctive.
Attributed disposition
Identifies whose tendency is being modelled and what expression would count.
Bearer and response family
Record the bearer, reference population, and operational boundaries of the proposed action tendency.
- Which organism or population is said to have this instinct, and at which developmental stages? definition
- Which observable actions count as expressions of this tendency, and which similar actions do not? boundary
Attribution evidence
Separates evidence for the behaviour from evidence for its proposed instinctive origin.
Origin and alternatives
Record the attribution's source, evidential limits, and plausible competing explanations.
- Who attributed the tendency to instinct, using which observations and definition? provenance
- What evidence distinguishes this attribution from habit, reflex, intuition, imitation, or deliberate strategy? boundary
- Which observation would weaken or overturn the instinct attribution? measurement
Elicitation and readiness Records conditions under which the proposed tendency becomes available or expressed.
Eliciting cues
Identifies candidate signals and the limits of cue recognition.
Cue specificity
Record which features of an encounter are associated with expression and which distinctions remain untested.
- Which sensory or situational features precede expression, and how were they distinguished from background context? measurement
- Do similar but irrelevant cues elicit the same tendency, and under what conditions? boundary
Internal readiness
Records bodily and contextual conditions that may change responsiveness.
Readiness and competing tendencies
Record associations between expression, internal state, and competing action tendencies without assuming causation.
- Which observed internal states or life-stage conditions accompany increased or reduced responsiveness? measurement
- When another tendency competes for expression, what happens to this one? measurement
Expression and non-expression Characterises how the tendency unfolds and how absence of visible behaviour should be interpreted.
Expression pattern
Describes observable onset, progression, variation, and completion.
Action sequence and variation
Record the recurring response pattern while allowing alternative routes and incomplete expressions.
- What marks onset, progression, and termination of an expression episode? definition
- Which components recur across eligible observations, and which vary with context? measurement
Absence and interruption
Distinguishes unobserved expression from evidence that the disposition is absent.
Interpreting missing expression
Record whether non-expression could reflect missing cues, inhibition, physical inability, or inadequate observation.
- When expression is absent, were eliciting conditions present and observation sufficient to detect a response? measurement
- What evidence separates lack of the disposition from inhibition, interruption, or inability to act? boundary
Development and experience Records emergence of the tendency and its relationship to maturation and learning.
Developmental emergence
Locates first observed expression within a documented developmental and exposure history.
Onset and prior exposure
Record when expression first appeared and what is actually known about preceding experience.
- When was the tendency first observed relative to maturation and opportunities to perform the action? measurement
- Which relevant exposures, demonstrations, or reinforcements preceded that observation, and which histories are unknown? provenance
Experience-related change
Tracks changes in cue selection, expression, and regulation associated with experience.
Persistence and modification
Record what remains stable and what changes after repeated encounters or learning opportunities.
- After relevant experience, do eliciting cues, response frequency, or action sequences change? measurement
- What evidence separates experience-related change from maturation, temporary state changes, or observation differences? boundary
Consequences and regulation Connects observed expression to outcomes and justified options for responding.
Contextual consequences
Separates measured effects of expression from proposed explanations of its function.
Outcomes and function claims
Record present consequences and identify claims about biological function as separately evidenced interpretations.
- What benefits, costs, or harms have been observed when this tendency is expressed in the current setting? measurement
- Which proposed functions have supporting evidence, and which remain hypotheses inferred from the behaviour? provenance
Regulatory options
Identifies supported ways to accommodate or alter expression and the authority needed to act.
Accommodation and intervention
Record evidence for cue changes, redirection, interruption, or accommodation, together with effects on the bearer.
- Which changes to cues, surroundings, or available actions have altered expression, with what duration and consequences? measurement
- What response is justified by the evidence, the bearer's welfare or consent where applicable, and the agent's authority? action
- What observation should cause the agent to stop or revise an attempted intervention? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of instinct this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of instinct this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of instinct this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of instinct this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of instinct this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of instinct this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Activities and processes
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- ACT
- Domain
- ACT.ACT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- sexual instinct, estrous cycle, parental instinct, nesting instinct
What it is Filled
Instinct is an inherent inclination of a living organism toward a pattern of behavior, whose expression can depend on development, internal state, environmental conditions and experience.
In scope
- The action tendency attributed to an organism or defined population
- Evidence supporting or challenging an instinct attribution
- Cues, internal conditions, and contexts associated with activation
- Expression, interruption, and non-expression of the tendency
- Developmental emergence and modification through experience
- Consequences and justified ways to accommodate or regulate expression
Out of scope
- Individual action events and their complete execution histories
- Acquired habits and skills considered independently of an instinct attribution
- Reflex mechanisms and physiological regulation without a broader action tendency
- Emotions, drives, and needs except as conditions affecting the tendency
- Deliberate goals, ethical commitments, and decision policies
- Artificial agent heuristics described metaphorically as instincts
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a proposed instinct, assess evidence for its origin and current expression, and identify justified responses without treating an instinctive impulse as an instruction.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Against habit: require evidence about acquisition history; automatic or repeated behaviour alone does not establish an instinct.
- Against reflex: identify the proposed organised action tendency beyond an immediate stimulus-response event, and record unresolved overlap.
- Against drive: specify the pattern of action being predisposed, rather than only an internal pressure such as hunger.
- Against intuition: distinguish an impulse toward action from a rapid judgement or felt belief.
- Against deliberate choice: record whether the tendency arises before explicit planning, while allowing its eventual expression to be deliberately regulated.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Use instinct to excuse harmful human behaviour as natural and unchangeable.
- Claim a behaviour is innate in people or groups without evidence.
- Exploit animals' instinctive responses to cause them distress for entertainment.
Only with a human decision
- Using instinct-based claims in decisions about a person or animal.
May
- Explain instinct and how researchers tell it apart from learned behaviour.
- Describe instinctive behaviour of a species from cited studies.
Moral aspects Filled
- Appeals to instinct have been used to justify sexism, racism and violence.
- Understanding animal instincts supports their welfare.
Who is affected
- People labelled by group
- Animals
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; it belongs to shared scientific vocabulary.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q6804646 - registry parent class
- Q9332 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.instinct
- Wikidata: Q18237 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18237)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Instinct attribution status: proposed | supported under stated criteria | contested | rejected | unassessed
- Bearer and reference population: Organism, species or population, and relevant developmental stage
- Predisposed action pattern: Operationally described orientation, action sequence, or response family
- Eliciting conditions: Candidate external cues, internal states, and contextual conditions
- Expression state: unknown | not observed | incipient | expressed | interrupted | recovering
- Conditional expression frequency: Observed expressions / defined eligible opportunities, with observation period and uncertainty
- Cue-to-expression latency: Seconds or another stated time unit, with cue and onset definitions
- Experience dependence: unassessed | expressed before relevant observed experience | experience-modified | relevant experience required | mixed or contested
- Regulatory conditions: Observed conditions associated with inhibition, interruption, redirection, or resumption
Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Instinct cannot be identified visually because observable behavior alone does not establish its inherited or unlearned origin.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Create or revise an instinct attribution using explicit criteria and competing explanations.
- Compare expression across cue conditions, developmental stages, and experience histories.
- Estimate the likelihood of expression within the conditions actually observed.
- Identify missing evidence and propose proportionate, non-harmful observations.
- Identify environmental accommodations or regulatory options supported by evidence.
- Flag when an instinct attribution is being used to excuse behaviour or justify an unsupported intervention.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Treating a behavior as entirely instinctive can obscure illness, distress, learning or environmental causes that require a different response.
- Assuming an animal's instinctive behavior is fully predictable can expose people or other animals to injury.
- Treating an instinctive impulse as justification for action can undermine consent, welfare and responsible decision-making.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Instinct as a general behavioral concept has no single applicable technical standard or official regulatory classification.
Context of use required Filled
- Instinct is discussed in ethology, behavioral biology and psychology when explaining behavior that appears without individual training.
- The concept helps frame investigations into inherited behavioral organization, environmental triggers and the contribution of learning.
Sources Filled
- Instinct - Working definition (inborn, stereotyped, apparently unlearned, genetically determined pattern released by specific stimuli); the split of the term into impulsion/drive, innateness, and behaviour; Lorenz's six attributes of instinctive activity; Tinbergen's hierarchy; classic releaser examples (herring-gull bill spot, stickleback red, honeybee oleic-acid hygiene, frog prey-catching); the German Instinkt versus Trieb distinction.
- Fixed Action Pattern: Definition & Examples - Fixed action patterns as stereotyped innate sequences triggered by a sign/key stimulus; the claim that they continue after the stimulus is removed; Lorenz and Tinbergen as originators; Barlow's later characterization.
- 15.11.1: Innate Behavior - The practical split of innate behaviour into taxes, reflexes, and instincts; instincts as complex, whole-body, inborn patterns distinguished from simple reflexes.
- 3.3: Modal Action Patterns - Modal action patterns as the preferred term over fixed action patterns; greylag goose egg-rolling and three-spined stickleback courtship as textbook cases; once begun, the pattern is carried through.
- Drive, instinct, reflex - Applications to treatment of anxiety, depressive and addictive disorders - Clinical and psychoanalytic contrast: Instinkt as an inherited species-typical pattern versus Trieb/drive as internally sourced motivation versus reflex as sensory-nerve activation.
- Nikolaas Tinbergen - The Study of Instinct (1951); innate behaviour as that not changed by learning; hierarchical model of motivational centres, blocks, and innate releasing mechanisms built on Lorenz's energy-reservoir picture.
- Konrad Lorenz - Instinctive behaviour treated as an organ-like, largely innate pattern released by environmental stimuli; innate releasing mechanisms; supernormal stimuli; imprinting as a related but distinct process.
- Wikidata item Q18237: instinct - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Instinct - general description of the item
Open questions
- Which operational meaning of instinct should this registry entry adopt, given that no definition is recorded?
- Should the entry cover colloquial human gut feelings, or should those uses resolve to intuition or another neighbouring model?
- What evidence threshold should support an instinct attribution when inherited predisposition and early learning cannot be cleanly separated?
- How should population-level evidence constrain attribution to an individual whose developmental history is unknown?
- Which boundaries with reflex, drive, and species-typical behaviour remain useful across different organisms and research traditions?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q18237/spec.json