fixed action pattern

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noun Ethology.

a highly stereotyped pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a particular species.

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Origin of fixed action pattern

Said to be a translation of German Erbkoordination, term used by Konrad Lorenz

While this deferred action is controversial in the United States, in Mexico, what Obama did is universally popular.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is where much of the action will be for anti-LGBT groups.
‘Only God’ Can Stop Gay Marriage|Tim Mak|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In 2008, Huckabee raised a little over $16 million, with less than $55,000 coming from political action committees.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?|Lloyd Green|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And in so many of these events, the pattern of “blame the victim” was quickly in evidence.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The possibility that the same outcome could happen another way -- namely a guy asks me out -- keeps me from taking action.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As men fixed in the grip of nightmare, we were powerless—unable to do anything but wait.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Let the thought of self pass in, and the beauty of great action is gone, like the bloom from a soiled flower.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
Her eyes, for a moment, fixed themselves with a horrid conviction of a wide and nameless treachery.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The Princess still kept her eyes fixed on Louis, while, in a suppressed and unsteady voice, she answered her governess.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
She kept her eyes fixed steadily on his, saying what followed gently, calmly, yet as though another woman spoke the words.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood