Are most of our daily actions instinctive or learned?

Question

Are most of our daily actions instinctive or learned?

Answer 1

Behavior is generally considered to be both.  The theory is Nurture /Nature.  That is to say part of our behavior is from nature, i.e. genetics, and the other part nurture, i.e. our environment.

Many studies have been done on this topic.  One of the best sources are from twin studies.  Identical twins have the same DNA (Nature).  Twins that were separated at or near birth, for example twins that were split up and adopted by different parents, are studied because they had different upbringings but have the same DNA.  This allows researchers to determine if a trait was acquiered through learning (e.g. nature, upbringing, surroundings, etcetera), or through instinct, e.g. nurture, DNA.

In short, both play important roles.  While many researchers believe most of our daily actions are learned, one cannot dismiss the instinctive component or the importance of DNA, genetics, hormones, and chemical balances (and imbalances) that affect our day-to-day behavior.

Answer 2

Yes they are....  Learned and instinctive.  Baby sucking instinctive.  Dad driving, learned.

Answer 3

humans don't have any instincts, only animals do

Answer 4

Learned. Go to a foreign country, their daily actions are much different than yours.

Answer 5

It is a combination of both. That is, nature and nurture. Firstly, constitutional factors, that is inherited genes, play a huge role in explaining human behaviour. However, it is the environment or learned information that interacts with the genes that will determine how an individual will behave. So genes may be the "blueprints" of human behaviour, but they are switched on or off by the interactive effects of the environment.

Answer 6

Learned.Mass media control of the sheeple crushes instinct and free thought.Few people are intuitive or free thinking these days.