Since this drive toward individual gain appears to be universally true in all humans, and appears to be as much a part of them (and their natures) as their physical structures, then it would appear that this trait toward gain is inherited, or instinctive.

It is also true, however, that unlike many other organisms with instinctive traits, humans do not generally exhibit a single pattern of behaviour or response to a given stimulus.

It may be improper, therefore, to refer to the human drive toward gain as purely instinctive.

Rather, this human trait may be more appropriately referred to as instinctoid. That is, the trait may be based upon a (much) earlier type of instinctive response that, due to the improved mental ability of humans to reason and evaluate, no longer results in a single patterned response, even though the base drive itself can be isolated as inherited, and itself continues as an identifiable pattern.

An instinctive trait, therefore, is an inate or inborn drive that results in a predictable patterned response to a given stimuli. An instinctoid trait, on the other hand, is based on an inate or inborn drive that results in a variable, or individual response.

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