Assignment task: Dynamic systems
The concept of instinct as an innate pattern of behavior has been widely invoked in biology and psychology. However, a close examination of developmental processes underpinning the emergence of purportedly "instinctive" behaviors reveals enormous complexity, which casts doubt on this notion. What do the experiments reported by Lehman suggest about the "innateness" of behaviors such as nest building in rats or pecking in chicks? What is the alternative way of understanding the emergence of behaviors in development? Discuss how the concept of instinct reproduces a preformationist bias?