Human Instinct
Human Instinct is a BBC documentary series presented by Robert Winston, examining human instincts and patterns of behavior. The series consists of four episodes, each of which deals with an area of human instincts - survival, sexual drive, competition, and altruism. In exploring these human instincts with intriguing experiments, the series reveals how instincts have made us humans into the uniquely successful species that we are and why we behave the way we do.
| Episode 2 - Deepest Desires |
Episode 1 - Born to Survive
This episode reveals that our instincts are honed to survive in a world far riskier than the one we inhabit today, and that this is why we often crave food high in calories, reject food that could be poisonous, and react to primeval dangers such as snakes.
Episode 2 - Deepest Desires
This episode explores the complex world of sexual attraction, investigating why men are more open to casual sex, what drives women to be unfaithful and what can ignite male sexual jealousy.
Episode 3 - The Will to Win
This episode explores the drive to succeed, looking at how different chemicals are released into the brain when we win or lose, and learning about the impact of being a younger sibling on behaviour patterns.
Episode 4 - Natural Born Heroes
This episode discovers why we do so much for friends and family, and will even risk our lives for complete strangers, often on split-second instinct.
| Related Links |
| Human Body: Pushing the Limits This is a four-part documentary series exploring topics on how the body reacts to moments of extreme stress like being stuck in a cave or running away from forest fires. |
| Human Senses This is a BBC documentary series presented by Nigel Marven, looking at six human senses - smell, taste, hearing, balance, touch, and vision. |
| Body Story This is a Discovery Channel documentary series about the human body and the biological processes it undergoes during distinct life events. |