What is the difference between an instinct and a behavior?

In: Psychology

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An instinct is an urge or idea to do something, and that instinct is a natural part of who you are... not something you have to think about much. Instincts can be inborn, or developed through the way you live. For instance, a man living in the woods might have developed better survival instincts than a tourist if both were attacked in the same woods.

A behavior is something you actually do. It has gone beyond the stage of wanting to do it or having the instinct to do it. Behaviors can be anything that you do... walking, rubbing your eyes... anything.

Behavior and instinct are different in the same way that desire and action are different... you can really, really want a blueberry muffin, but not take any action to get one. You can have a really strong instinct to run away from a wedding, but go through with it anyway. :)

For further reading:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/instinct
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/behavior

First answer by Zanbabe. Last edit by Zanbabe. Contributor trust: 583 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 27 [recommend question]

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