all behaviour stemmed from 2 opposing groups of instincts:
Eros - the life instincts that enhance life & growth - the
energy is the libido
Thanatos - the death instincts that push towards destruction - the
energy is aggression
parental prohibition of these energies results in repression and
result in unconscious motives which can then become expressed through
dreams, unconscious mannerisms & slips in speech & in symptoms
of illnesses
focuses on patterns of behaviour the individual learns in coping with
their environment emphasising the reciprocal interaction between
behaviour & environment
the type of behaviour we exhibit partly determines the reward or
punishment we receive & this in turn influence our behaviour
patterns of behaviour can be learned by experience or observation with
external and self-evaluative reinforcement of successful behaviour
patterns & discarding others thus producing self-regulation of
behaviour
we all have a stimulus struggle - the need to maintain an optimum level of
stimulation. Early tribesmen did not find this a difficult problem as the
demands of survival kept him busy, requiring all his time & energy to
stay alive, find food & water, defend his territory, avoid his enemies,
breed & rear his young & to construct & maintain his shelter.
Modern man however, continually fights this stimulus struggle by various
methods outlined as follows.
6 basic principles of stimulus struggle:
if stimulus is too weak, you may increase your behaviour output by
either:
creating unnecessary problems which you can then solve:
indulge in activities such as hobbies:
people in mentally unstimulating careers tend to take up
hobbies or other activities to create stimulus, although
these may not have any real other purpose and so will always
be a substitute for real survival activity & run the
risk of disillusionment with the hobby which will then have
to be dealt with
"tempting survival":
adopt substitute activities that create a stress situation
that will require a fight for survival either physically or
socially
teenager throwing a ball through a window
"self-destructive behaviours"
infidelity
criminal behaviours
"tempting survival by proxy":
real:
meddling in other people's emotional lives to create
chaos that you would otherwise have to go through
yourself
malicious gossip
fantasy:
identifying yourself with the survival drama of
fictional characters in books, films, etc.
over-reacting to a normal stimulus:
over-indulgence in food, sex, grooming, thumb-sucking, etc
inventing novel activities:
if familiar patterns are too dull, then use of creativity can
make them more stimulating
inventors
create music, art, etc
performing normal responses to sub-normal stimuli:
overflow principle
in absence of adequate stimulus, use other stimulus to
substitute
absence of sexual mate, can use masturbation, fetishes, etc
starving men will chew wood or other nutritionally worthless
objects rather than chew nothing
aggressive individuals with no enemies to attack may violently
smash inanimate objects or mutilate their own bodies
artificially magnify selected stimuli:
creation of 'super-normal' stimuli to produce super-normal
responses as well as reducing certain non-selected or irrelevant
stimuli which further enhances the desired stimulus (eg.
advertising)
we like colours of flowers so breed bigger & brighter ones
we like babies, so create pets & dolls with infantile
characteristics such as short limbs, clumsiness, large eyes.
we like rhythm of human locomotion, so we develop gymnastics
we like taste of food, so we make it spicier & tastier
we like certain scents, so we manufacture strong perfumes
we like sexual stimuli, so use clothes & cosmetics to exaggerate
them and use sexual enhancers
fashion:
law of shifting erogenous zones
to avoid stimulus wearing off from excessively
long exposure, fashions tend to change quickly, and
in female clothing in particular wear sexual aspects
are dominant, each cycle of fashion tends to exaggerate
a new aspect of the body whilst minimising others:
as eye shadow more dominant, lipstick less
dominant
as breasts become feature, skirts tend to
become longer & vice versa
as bellies become feature, legs tend to be
concealed
male fashion:
adults tend to adopt status dressing
young adults tend to adopt sexual virility
dressing or anti-adult dress
sleeping tablets to produce super-normal sleep
stimulants to produce super-normal alertness
laxatives to produce super-normal defecation
toilet products to produce super-normal body-cleaning
tooth whiteners to produce super-normal smile
extreme exaggeration in visual arts
if stimulation is too strong, you may reduce your behaviour output
by:
damping down responsiveness to incoming sensations:
blocking of motive satisfaction results in frustration
frustration can arise from:
environmental obstacles
personal limitations
social limitations
conflict between two opposing motives:
goals that are both desirable and undesirable ie. may be
pleasurable but have adverse effects resulting in an ambivalent
attitude towards that goal and approach-avoidance conflict
examples are:
independence vs dependence
cooperation vs competition
impulse expression vs moral standards
frustration has a number of possible consequences:
restlessness & tension => anxiety
aggression
direct - directed at source of frustration
displaced - attacks other objects to vent frustration
apathy
fantasy:
including the broadly defined voyeuristic behaviours that give
some satisfaction even though not an active participant
