This term describes automatic responses programmed by the nervous system.

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Automatic responses programmed by the nervous system are instinctual behaviours. These are inherited patterns of action that occur without conscious thought or deliberate learning, triggered by environmental cues to help the organism respond quickly and appropriately. This differs from memory, which is about storing and recalling information, and from learning, which requires experience to acquire or modify behaviours. Stimuli are simply the triggers that can elicit responses, not the responses themselves, and while some automatic reactions are simple reflexes, instinctual behaviour covers broader, built‑in patterns guiding actions across different situations.