Abstract
Basic vital functions are supposed to be shared by all living organisms and distinguish them from nonliving things. Three core vital functions recognized by most authors as the defining features of life are nutrition (feeding), interaction with the environment (social interaction), and reproduction. We herein present a psychobiological overview of the first two, the third being discussed in a separate chapter. On the other hand, instincts signify the inherent tendency of living organisms to exhibit particular complex patterns of behavior. Therefore, instinctive behaviors arise from innate biological factors and not learning or prior experience (although their expression can be modifiable by social learning) and are unconscious. They are displayed by most members of the species, thus securing the development and preservation of the individual or the species. However, the degree to which instincts determine the behavior of animals varies across species, with education/learning contributing more than instinct in shaping behavior the higher a species stands on the evolutionary ladder. We discuss how psychological schools such as psychoanalysis and ethology have historically viewed two major kinds of instincts, aggression and sexuality, and provide a psychobiological overview of the former, with the latter being discussed in a separate chapter.
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Ferentinos, P., Kokras, N., Konstantakopoulos, G. (2019). Basic Vital Functions and Instincts. In: Fountoulakis, K., Nimatoudis, I. (eds) Psychobiology of Behaviour. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18323-3_3
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