Some organisms have instinctive behaviors called fixed action patterns. Don't get this confused with habitual behaviors in humans.
Of course, similar kind of recurring behaviors can be exhibited by human beings, but they're different from animals' in that they are not fixed or programmed to last until the entire behavioral sequence is completed.
What I am talking about is animal behaviors that are completely fixed that the animals cannot even make an attempt to quit or change them. One thing about fixed action patterns is that they are triggered by a stimulus, like a specific color combination or a smell, and not by a specific object.
the entire behavioral sequence is completed. What I am talki ng about is animal behaviors that are completely fixed that t
he animals cant even make an attempt to quit or changet
hem. One thing about fixed action patterns is that they are tr
triggered by a stimulus, like a specific color combination or a smell, and not by a specific object. Take the stickleback fish
for example. Every spring, the belly of the male stickleback urns bright red, and it becomes very territorial. When this ha ppens, the male stickleback will attack any other male that c omes into the area. But what's interesting is that if you put a nything red near this stickleback, even if it looks nothing lik e a fish, the fish is going to become aggressive. Therefore, i n essence, it's the color, and not the sight of another male st nickelback, that triggers the behavior. Another important asp ect of a fixed action pattern is that once it is triggered, it will continue to the end. A well-known example of this is a grayl ag goose. If the greylag goose sees one of its eggs fallin' ou t of the nest, it will instinctively roll the egg back into the ne st with its beak. However, if you show it the egg and then tak e it away right in front of its eyes, the goose will still go thro ugh that action sequence and roll an imaginary egg ba i ts original place. Once the sight of the displaced egg trigger s its rolling behavior, the removal of the egg from its sight c annot make the goose stop its action since it's kind of a reflex ex behavior. The action pattern continues to the end on has started