Innate Behaviour
Innate behaviour is behaviour you are born with, behaviour which you inherit because it is in your DNA. It is instinctive behaviour. For example, a spider knows how to spin a web as soon as it is born, or a baby can suckle because it is instinctive. The behaviour is intrinsic which means it will be present even if an animal is raised on its own, without parents or others of its species to teach it. It is also stereotypical which means the behaviour will be performed in the same way each time.
Innate behavior is thought to be inherited through genes, and it can't be changed by the individual, it is inflexible. It can be very complex and it does not have to be learned, it will be fully developed from birth. Innate behavior is beneficial, and because it is encoded in DNA it is subject to natural selection. This means overtime the genes that cause the best behavior will become more common among the individuals of a species.
A reflex is an example of innate behavior, like when you automatically pull your hand away from something that is hot. You don't have to think about it, you didn't have to learn to do it... as a human, it's just something that you do.
A scientist named Lagerspetz tried to prove that innate behaviour has a genetic base by selecting very aggressive mice, and breeding them together. Aggressive mice would cross an electrified grid to attack an opponent or would choose an opportunity to fight rather than remain peaceful. The results were compared to a control of mice with non-aggressive genetic lines. The result showed that a few genes affect variation in fighting behaviour: when aggressive mice were bred together aggressive offspring were produced. Winning enhanced fighting behaviour of aggressive animals but not of initially non-aggressive animals.
However, it is difficult to find purely innate behavior because a lot of an animal's behavior is the result of an interaction between genes and the environment. Environmental conditions can alter innate behavior. There are 5 characteristics of innate behavior that you need to remember.
It is heritable so it is passed on through DNA
It is intrinsic so it is present in animals raised in isolation from others
It is stereotypic so the behaviour will be performed the same every time
It is also inflexible so it never changes, even because of experience
And finally the behaviour is fully developed or expressed at first performance, it is consummate. So, innate behavior is a pattern of inherited or pre-set behavior that doesn't require learning or practice.