The instinct theory of motivation and modern psychology is the result of how we are put together as human beings, or even how animals and other species are put together, otherwise known as genetic coding.
The most common form of instinctive behaviour is when a sequence of events is carried out in a specific order. Instinctive behaviour is something that is carried out without having previous experience; we just know what to do, when to do it and when it needs to be done. Reflexes are a good example of instinctive behaviour and these can include a baby suckling on its mother, and reproduction itself.
Many behaviours have instinctive components, as well as learned components. Sleeping is an instinctive and a necessary human behaviour. However, when people sleep depends on a number of external environmental factors including work, entertainment, noise etc.
Wilhelm Wundt first used instinct in psychology in the 1870s. Any behaviour that was repetitive behaviour was classed as instinctive behaviour. This view changed though and instinct became more restricted in human behaviour according to textbooks. Sigmund Freud however, referred to human motivational forces such as sex, eating and aggression as instinctive. Maslow, a psychologist, argued that humans do not possess instinctive behaviour as we have the ability to override the instinct in certain situations. He referred to these feelings as drives.
In the 1961 book 'Instinct: An Enduring Problem in Psychology' by Robert C. Birney and Richard C. Teevan a number of criteria were established that would distinguish instinctive behaviour from other types of behaviour. Instinctive behaviour was defined as something that was automatic, irresistible, would occur at some point in development, be triggered by an environmental event, and occur in every member of the species. The behaviour must also not be modifiable and would need no training.
The most common form of instinctive behaviour is when a sequence of events is carried out in a specific order. Instinctive behaviour is something that is carried out without having previous experience; we just know what to do, when to do it and when it needs to be done. Reflexes are a good example of instinctive behaviour and these can include a baby suckling on its mother, and reproduction itself.
Many behaviours have instinctive components, as well as learned components. Sleeping is an instinctive and a necessary human behaviour. However, when people sleep depends on a number of external environmental factors including work, entertainment, noise etc.
Wilhelm Wundt first used instinct in psychology in the 1870s. Any behaviour that was repetitive behaviour was classed as instinctive behaviour. This view changed though and instinct became more restricted in human behaviour according to textbooks. Sigmund Freud however, referred to human motivational forces such as sex, eating and aggression as instinctive. Maslow, a psychologist, argued that humans do not possess instinctive behaviour as we have the ability to override the instinct in certain situations. He referred to these feelings as drives.
In the 1961 book 'Instinct: An Enduring Problem in Psychology' by Robert C. Birney and Richard C. Teevan a number of criteria were established that would distinguish instinctive behaviour from other types of behaviour. Instinctive behaviour was defined as something that was automatic, irresistible, would occur at some point in development, be triggered by an environmental event, and occur in every member of the species. The behaviour must also not be modifiable and would need no training.
