The young human being has the same innate curiosity drive as the young of the higher vertebrates: an Indian child in Cuzco exploring his surroundings as well as testing his own behavior and resulting reactions. This is how, impelled by instinct, the child builds up the behavioral controls necessary for existence; in other words, he "learns."
 

Parents have an innate urge to teach their offspring. Learning by imitation is an intellectual feat of which, apart from man, only the highest vertebrates (e.g., monkeys, wolves, cats) are capable. Demonstration and imitation form the basis of human development, both drives being innate in us.
 

One of the loneliest villages in the world is Molo on Lake Rudolf in Uganda. Like children everywhere, the local youngsters play "building houses." Such is the power of human imagination that a few bent palm fronds suffice to symbolize a house. The children enjoy the shade and invite their friends inside.
 

The reflex intake of breath in response to a surprise is an innate reaction which prepares the human body for defensive measures. Simultaneously – another reflex action – the hand darts to the mouth. We filmed this fixed-action pattern in various races (Karamoja woman, Frenchwoman). It is identical everywhere.
 

The reflex repulsion of an approaching body became, by process of ritualization, the innate signal for "Keep away!" Throughout the world, as seen in the second photograph, the calmly raised hand has acquired the traditional meaning: "I am unarmed and well disposed toward you!" The third photograph shows an individual hand signal: "Strictly between ourselves…"
 

The movement denoting an intention to grasp something has become the traditional and universally understood signal for "Give me!" Progressive ritualization is evident in the second photograph: The same message is conveyed by an open palm passively extended (blind beggar). The signal has greater impact in a little child, which is why in the third photograph the elder child is using the younger's hand.
 

The movement denoting an intention to touch something with one's finger became the signal for "There!" We point to our heads when wishing to draw attention to an idea. We may also, in conversation, point to something quite abstract, e.g., an argument. In Siamese dancing, further abstraction has transformed the act of pointing into a challenge to mortal combat.
 

Hindus praying beside the Ganges: A scooping movement symbolizes the raising of sacred water to the Deity. The pilgrim in the second photograph, while making the same movement, barely touches the water. In the third photograph the gesture has become entirely divorced from its original medium. Opposite: Ritual movements whose origin almost defies elucidation.
 

This bear used to live in a smaller enclosure, which is why it still shuttles to and fro between invisible boundaries when moved to a larger one. Similarly, on the opposite page, speeded-up films showed that the news vendor spent his entire day shuttling between the same sections of building walls. This stereotyped behavior arises from man's innate desire to protect his rear.
 

The inability to satisfy urges or desires tends to "bottle up" excitation, and this-in man as in animals-results in "displacement activities." Scratching and picking the nose or teeth-even smoking and drinkingmay then act purely as safety valves. This is another innate and universal form of behavior.
 

It is possible not only to suppress hereditarily fixed modes of behavior by conscious effort but also to intensify and even manipulate them. All races convey surprise by widening the eyes and raising the eyebrows – an innate movement not acquired by learning. Many people (like these Italian women) intensify this fixed-action pattern still further in order to emphasize a statement while conversing. The stimulative effect of an innate signal is thus artificially reinforced. Whether or not the surprise remains "genuine" is an open question. It may be purely simulated.
 

Opening the mouth is a universal sign of curiosity. The South American Indian girl in our first picture is giving an involuntary performance of this innate movement. The three other pictures show one Italian listening intently to another. His mouth, too, is open – in fact our film showed that it remained so for more than a minute. This is probably another instance in which an expression of genuine curiosity has degenerated into a conventional mark of courtesy denoting interest on the part of the listener.
 

When an actress of the Kabuki Theater in Tokyo bites the end of her sleeve and wags her head to and fro, the audience knows she is jealous. In this case, both performer and behavior are artificial products. Understanding of the gesture depends on tradition, and the actress is really a man.