Question

Discuss Species-Specific Innate Behaviors. Give examples in humans. What is a fixed action pattern? How is it different from a reflex?

Answer 1

Behavior is change in a person depending upon the changes in the environment and under different conditions. Species specific Innate behavior is a strong genetic basis for a specific behavior of a person without the effect of external environmental stimulus. Innate behavior depends upon the external stimulus and generates a reflex action inside the human body. The example is a knee-jerk reflex activated after striking a patella with a hammer. Another example is kinesis which involved a movement of a substance towards a stimulus due to a change in the environmental conditions like changes in temperature causes a change in the kinesis movement of lice insects observed under innate behavior in science field. One more example is taxis which is movement in response to light, gravity or chemical signals. Fixed action patterns are movements of the body even when the stimulus is removed. Example occurs is a three-spined stickleback fish which forms a red pattern on the lower half of the body after seeing a dummy stimulus which is painted red on the lower side. This is a sign of aggressive behavior in species of fishes. It is different from an involuntary reflex action which is observed on touching something hot leading to the generation of rebound relfex and changes observed in plants with the movements of their parts after touching them or changes in response to temperature or light stimulus.