Fixed Action Patterns

Define Fixed Action Pattern

Fixed action patterns (FAPs) are a set of instinctive behaviours in a species. They are a sequence of actions that respond to a stressor or cue (stimulus). FAPs are innate (not learned) and must be performed to their fullest extent, even when the stimulus is no longer present. They occur in all animals across the same species.

They are a concept of the ethological approach and occur because of an innate releasing mechanism (IRM).

When an animal encounters a particular stimulus or event, it responds through a series of behaviours. These behaviours represent a neural network in the brain that responds to specific stimuli and triggers a specific sequence of actions directly responding to the stimulus. IRMs are a part of a built-in neural network that responds to specific stimuli to trigger the behavioural response.

According to the theory, fixed action patterns are instinctive.

Fixed Action Patterns: The Six Types of FAPs

Konrad identified six types of fixed action patterns:

1. Stereotyped: FAPS follow a specific pattern and are unchanging. They are rigid and highly predictable, ‘stereotypical’.

2. Complex: FAPs are not just a reflex but a set pattern of behaviours occurring in a specific order and complex patterns.

3. Universal: FAPs are found in all species responding to a specific threat.

4. Triggered: FAPs that have been triggered must be completed, even if the stimulus that triggered them is no longer present (also known as ballistic).

5. Released: FAPs respond to a specific stimulus, meaning they only occur in particular scenarios. It is a reaction to a specific ‘releaser’.

6. Unaffected by learning/independent of experience: FAPs are not learned from parents but occur the first time a FAP occurs.

Fig. 2 - There are six fixed action pattern types.

A common theme in all these fixed action patterns is the releasor. It determines the exact FAP that will occur in the animal.

Fixed Action Patterns in Animals

When answering a question in an exam, you can show the examiner that you know exactly what a fixed action pattern is by giving examples. So, here are a few fixed action patterns in animals:

Ethological Approach

Given the influence genes have on the development of specific traits, genes may influence fixed action patterns. In the ethological approach, fixed action patterns are viewed as responses triggered by a particular stimulus; they are much more complex than a reflex, however, so do not confuse the two.

Behaviour changes and evolves – dogs are an excellent example of where certain FAPs have been bred into prominence.

The dogs themselves have been specifically bred to excel at these behaviours, so they are exaggerated in the breed and the dogs excel in the FAPs. As these animals can be specifically bred to emphasise these FAPs, we can assume FAPs have some genetic basis.

Key Studies in Fixed Action Patterns in Psychology

As we mentioned earlier, Konrad Lorenz is the father of fixed action patterns in ethology. Numerous studies have found examples of FAPs in animals (and in some rare cases, potentially humans, but our complex social systems make it much more difficult for researchers to demonstrate FAPs in our behaviours confidently).

Male Stickleback’s Mating Behaviours and Aggression

Niko Tinbergen studied the mating behaviour of male sticklebacks (freshwater fish), specifically the three-spined stickleback. During the mating season, sticklebacks turn their bellies red and establish nesting territories. They are also aggressive toward other males, increasing their chances of mating with females.

Tinbergen was trying to figure out whether or not the red belly was the trigger, so he created wooden male sticklebacks and confronted the real fish with the wooden objects to see its reactions. One wooden stickleback had a red underside, and the other did not.

When encountering the wooden object with the red underside, the male sticklebacks went into their FAPs and were aggressive. However, when they encountered the wooden object without a red underside, they did not respond with their FAPs. The FAP would always run to completion.

Greylag Goose Egg-retrieval

Niko Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz have identified specific behaviours in ground-nesting birds, such as greylag goose egg-retrieval. When an egg rolls out of the nest and is displaced, the goose begins a fixed action pattern of action:

1. It looks at the egg and sets it to identify it.
2. It then stretches its neck over the egg.
3. With the egg under its beak, it rolls it back into the nest.

If the egg is removed while the goose is rolling it back into the nest, she continues to roll the egg as if it were still there. The goose performs the entire sequence of actions to roll the egg back into the nest, even if the egg has disappeared under her beak. The displaced egg triggers an IRM that begins the FAP, which cannot be interrupted.

Sackett (1966): Isolated Monkeys and Aggression

In Sackett (1966), the monkeys were isolated from their mothers as infants, so they could not learn behaviours from them. This includes behaviours such as defence mechanisms. Sackett showed the infant monkeys pictures of other monkeys displaying familiar, recognisable threatening poses and non-threatening poses.

The isolated monkeys responded defensively to the threatening images, even though they had never learned this behaviour from their mothers. It was an innate response to aggression, a FAP they were born with.

Fig. 3 - Rhesus monkeys show fixed action patterns¹.

Humans and Fixed Action Patterns

Humans are complex creatures that societal influences and cultural norms govern. While smiling at someone on the street in one country is considered the norm and polite, it may be regarded as rude and offensive and is not customary in another country.

Since our behaviour often depends on our personal choices and cultural context, it is difficult to determine if people have many FAPs in psychology. Yawning is the simplest example of a possible FAP in humans. Smiling is a non-aggressive FAP, but cultural differences make it almost impossible to study this practice properly.

Fixed Action Pattern vs Instinct

Fixed actions are instinctive processes that exist in animals. An instinct is a behaviour specific to the animal. It is a biological compulsion to perform an action based on a particular stimulus.

Problems with Fixed Action Patterns

A few problems with the theory of FAPs exist, namely that FAPs are adaptive. Environmental factors can change how an animal responds to certain stimuli, even if the FAP is considered fixed and unchanging. Learning is an essential component of all animal life, and without learning, most animals would not survive. If this were the case, we would not be able to train a dog or own a cat and domesticate it.

However, by studying FAPs, we have identified evolutionarily advantageous behaviours, which is helpful in the study of animals overall (it is also beneficial in studying human behaviours because it gives a basis for understanding we can build on). It has given us insight into innate behaviours related to aggression, particularly in the case of the stickleback.

Issues exist, however, in that FAPs and IRMs fail to account for premeditated violence or aggression. Premeditated aggression is not in response to an environmental trigger.