Instincts Philosophers in the seventeenth and eighteenth century (like Descartes and Hobbes) shared a mechanistic view. They thought that some of our actions are the result of internal or external forces, which are not under voluntary control. Hobbes, for example, claimed that underlying reasons for behavior are the avoidance of pain and the quest for pleasure. "Behavior is the result of instincts, which are present since birth." The extreme of the mechanistic view is the theory of instincts. An instinct is an innate biological force, which commands the organism to behave in a particular way. The main advocate of the instinct theory was the psychologist McDougall. He hypothesized that all thinking and behavior is the result of instincts, which are fixed from birth, but which can be adjusted by learning and experience. In his book Social Psychology McDougall enumerated several instinctive drives, like fear, curiosity, aggression and reproduction. This list was expanded later with 8 other instincts. By changes and combinations of instincts he tried to explain the whole repertoire of human behavior. The instinct theory was supported by many psycho-analysts. For example, Freud asserted that human behavior could be explained by two major instincts: the instinct to survive (such as a drive for sexual reproduction) and the instinct to avoid death, which causes aggression. Quite soon, it became evident that many instincts were required to explain human behavior and, even worse, these instincts did not explain very much: so many instincts were postulated such that any type of behavior could be explained. A better phrasing would be to say that instincts provide a description of behavior, rather than an explanation. In the 1920's instinct theory was replaced by the theory of drives. A driving force originates from a natural need, like thirst. Such a situation stimulates the organism to comply with the need. Lack of food causes chemical changes in the blood, which causes the need for food, which stimulates the organism to look for food.  Further reading:   pain   pain   maternal behavior Do you have more information about Basic drives? Please share it in our database. [ TOP ]   © ThinkQuest Team 26618. All Rights Reserved.