Actually we as human beingings have a lot more instinct than we wish to give ourselves credit for; just as animals have a much larger degree of learned behavior traits than previously were thought to exisit.

An axiom of medical science and is "Structure = Function". Its the basis for erudation in allmost all of biology (not to mention chemistry and physics) from the micro to the macro.

All things that are biological entities (including human behavior learned or instinctual or otherwise) has a physical structure or interaction between structures within the body that represents its paticular function, including as we have recently come to find out "memories" "feelings" "thoughts" etc etc.

By that standard, any instinctual behaviors (mental functions/including reflexive and muscle motor function as well as limbic activity) is included "during construction" of said body and all other things that come after construction is complete (long and short term memories, pattern/ sence and recognition faculties, and any recallable data nessesary to function or plan ahead etc) would be "learned".

Of course not every part of the body matures and completes being constructed at the same rate, some parts dont finnish at all and even keep going for a time after the rest of the body has ceased to function etc.

The capacity for dominant or submissive behavior can be compared as being both "learned" and "instinctal" to some degree or another by defualt on medical explanation, but it can be very dificult to pin down and define just how much of the behavior being exhibited by any one individual is directly as a result of insticnt as opposed to learned responce.

The more we find out in biology and medicine about how the human brain functions the more we start to realize that "instinct" and "learned responce" behaviors are not nessesarally the key; much of what is thought to seperate man from the beasts resides in our evolution of a structural change in learning capacity.

Speculative food for thought.

Is there a "submission gene"? Well is there a gene that governs any other behaviors or personality patterns? Some scientists believe that every single human behavior etc will eventually be able to one day be explained on the basis of structure equalling function.

If that is what proves to be the case once they do, its highly likely that such a gene or other structure is indeed present within all of us to one degree or another.

Oh, btw "testosterone" and how much one has of it, have been directly linked to "aggression" (a dominant characteristic in some peoples oppinion).