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Freud's interpretation of consumer behavior

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Freud's interpretation of consumer behavior

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Content FREUD'S INTERPRETATION OF / l CONSUMER BEHAVIOR by Mansoor Famoorzadeh •f ( A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (Economies) August 1963 UMI Number: EP44798 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP44798 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 U N IVE R SITY O F S O U T H E R N C A L IF O R N IA GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES 7. CALIFORNIA £& F/f# This thesis, w ritte n by ....... Man s . Q Q . r _ _F ampor za&sk ..... under the direction of hHs......Thesis Comm ittee, and approved by a ll its members, has been p re sented to and accepted by the Dean of the Graduate School, in p a rtia l fu lfillm e n t of re quirements fo r the degree of ..........J&stes*--©f-A-r4s-............... Dean D«,t. ..... THESIS COMMITTEE e . Chairman TABLE OF CONTENTS FACE LIST OF TABLES ........................ vii CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . 1 The Problem 1 Statement of the problem ............ 1 Importance of the study ..*••..• 1 Review of the Literature •••••••... 5 Consumer behavior and Freudian Psychology 8 Preview of the Coming Chapters ••••••• 12 II. THE INMOST ESSENCE OF HUMAN NATURE........... 1$ The Function of the Nervous System • • • . • 15 Instincts Historically Determined • • • • • 16 The Phenomena of Life .......... 17 Germ-Cells Working against the Death of the Living Substance •••••••••••«• 18 The Sexual Instincts ••••••.••••• 20 Death Instincts Versus Sexual Instincts . • 21 The Motive Force behind the Activities of all Instincts •• •••• ••• ••• .. 21 Self-Destruction Versus Self-Preservation • 22 ii CHAPTER PAGE Freud ’s Theory of Death Instincts Challeng ing the Conventional Economic Assumptions 23 III* REGENT STUDIES AND FREUD*S THEORY OF POLARITY AMONG INSTINCTS............................ 2$ Man against Himself • •••••••.••• 2$ Destructive Impulse as an Instinct in Every Living Substance in Nature.......... ♦ . 26 Utility Maximization as Wishful Thinking in Economic Circles • 28 Projection of Destructiveness toward the External World • ••••••••••••• 29 Sadistic Behavior: A Substitution for Self- Pro jeeted Destructive Impulse ...... 29 The Four-Fold Classification Reducible to Three • ••••••• •• «•• •• ••. 30 The Process of Repression and Sublimation * 32 The Discovery upon which Psychoanalysis was Based • ••• «•• •• ••• •. •• •• 3 I 4 . A Psychic Mechanism Created through Evolution • •• • ••• ••• ... .•• 35 Universality of Neurosis Bluntly Ignored in Contemporary Economic Circles • ••••• 37 IV. FORMATION OF PERSONALITY...................... 38 The Paradox of Self-Preservation «••••• 38 ill CHAPTER PAGE Formation of Human Attitudes and Preferences ifO Tlie Tabula Rasa of John Locke • •••••• l } . l Learning and Unconscious Mental Processes • 1*2 The Ingredients of Personality • •••••• I * ! * The Process of Personality Formation • • * . 1*1* Conditioning as the Frame of Reference of Human Personality • ••••.••••.. i*6 Watson *s Experiments • •...••••••• I* 8 Significance of the Early Years ...... i | - 9 Primary and Secondary Heeds .••••••• 50 Ever-Expanding Learned Emotional Needs and Man's Inner Integrity • ••••••.•• $1 V, RESOLVING INNER FRUSTRATIONS ......... 55 Non-Mechanistic Aspects of Consumer Behavior 55 Formation of Habit Patterns through Frustra tion • ••..•••••••••••••• 57 The Three Realms of the Consumer Mind • . . 58 Structure and Functions of the Consumer's Ego ..................... 59 Structure and Functions of the Consumer's Superego •»••••••••••••••• 6l The Unconscious Conflicts Behind Consumer's Choice •.••••••••••••••.. 65 The Theory of Utility from a Freudian View point • ••.••••••••••••«• 68 i v ______________ CHAPTER PAGE Development of Consumer*s Reaction Patterns 71 Various Ways of Resolving Inner Frustrations Create Different Reaction Patterns in Different Consumers ••••»•••••• 7b Identification • •• •• ••• •• •• •• 75 Identification in economic and social activities . «••••• ••• ••• •• 76 Displacement ......... @2 Displacement in economic and social. activities • •• • ••• ••• ••• • 83 Defense mechanisms of the e g o ........... 86 Repression •• • • ••• ••• ••» •• 86 Repression and the elements.of irration ality in human behavior ••»•••• 87 Repression and consumer behavior . * . * 90 Projection •• •• »•• • ••• ••• « 91 Projection and consumer behavior « • • • 92 Projection and conservation of psychie energy................................ 93 Reaction formation ••«•••»»••« 95 Reaction formation and consumer behavior 9& Fixation ••«*•••• •* ••• •• • 98 Fixation and consumer behavior • • • • • 99 Regression ••••••• ......... 100 v CHAPTER PAGE Regression and consumer behavior . • • • 101 Summary of the Chapter.......... 102 VI. THE BASIS OP IRRATIONALITY IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR . lOij. Psychic Energy Consumed in the Defense Process •••«••»•••••••••• lOlj. Freud and the Behaviorlst Psychologists • • 106 Harmony between the Three Systems of Person ality • ••••••••••••••••» 108 Eseape from reality and the unconscious conflicts •••• •• •• ••• •• •• 115 Polarity among Instincts and Elements of Irrationality in Consumer Behavior • • • • 119 Conclusion ••• •• ••«•••••»••• 121 BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................... 129 vi LIST OP TABLES TABLE PAGE I, Pooled Eatings of the Strength of i|4 Biologi cal and Social Drives and Motives........ 52 II. Distribution of Dollar Spent for Satisfaction of Needs in the U. S. A. ••••••••• 53 vii CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OP THE LITERATURE It is generally admitted that Freud *s theories have opened new vistas into the mysteries of the human mind* In view of the system of thought advanced hy him, a reconsideration of certain conventional economic assump tions seems advantageous* I. THE PROBLEM Statement of the problem. It is the purpose of this paper to (1) present Sigmund Preud,s basic ideas pertaining to the motive force behind human behavior and (2) to reconsider some prevailing economic assumptions which seem to be unrealistic from a Freudian viewpoint* Importance of the study* "It Is impossible,” writes one author, "to think of the greatest names in modern literature and art • • • without realizing our debt to Freud*s exploration of dreams, myths, symbols and the imaginative profundity of man ’a inner life*"^ Another writer adds: ^■Alfred Kazin, "The Freudian Revolution Analyzed," Freud and the 20th Century, ed. Benjamin Nelson (New Yorks Verdian Books, Inc., 19<W, P* 1^1 • 1 2 Freud’s journey within— The Interpretation of Dreams (I900J — parallels and goes beyond that of Marcus Aurelius, St. Augustine, Dante, Pascal, Kirkegaard, Rimbaud and other more recent explorers of the soul. Hone took sounding so deep as he, none focussed so unrelentingly and evolved such powerful resources for mapping the innermost labyrinths as he; none described the mind*s itinerary with less resort to fable, fancy or despairing leaps into faith. The Interpretation of Dreams initiates the existentialist consciousness of the Twentieth Century. . . . His Civilization and Its Discontents . . . is the most distinctive statement in the philosophy of existence and civilization which has been produced in the present century. By contrast to it, naive rationalisms and naive romanticisms alike— philoso phies seemingly as diverse as those of Comte and Spencer, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in the Nineteenth Century; Dewey and Sartre, Spengler and Toynbee in the Twentieth— seem shades of yesteryear, without power to express our present experience of the condition of men or the designs of history.^ "So strong and so telling and so convincing is the psychological system of Freud," emphasizes the leading American psychiatrist, Gregory Zilboorg, "that even in its most conspicuous controversy psychoanalysis wins In a very paradoxical way."^ What makes Freud*s system so popular even among the most highly-trained minds whose scientific curiosity is seldom paralleled? What has given it the vigor to withstand the test of time for over half a century? What 2 Benjamin Nelson (ed.), Freud and the 20th Century (New York: Meridian Books, Inc., 195>9) * P* ^Gregory Zilboorg, Sigmund Freuds His Exploration of the Mind of Man (New Yorks Grove Press* inc./ I960), p. 121. 3 has made it so widely-used a system for exploration of man's inner world, for treatment of mental illness, and even for application of psychology to everyday life? One reason, perhaps, is, as Eric Fromm has pointed out, that it was the very essence of Freud's work to see man realistically, to understand the forces that motivate him and yet of which he and others are unaware; to recog nize that most of what every man thinks about himself is well-meant lies, that he is in fact quite different— not necessarily worse— in his real existence, from the legend about him which he or others create.^ Another reason is, as Jan Ehrenwald has pointed out, Freud's skeptical attitude toward prevailing mystical convictions and his untiring zest in following a scientif ic method of Investigation in all his intellectual activities. Religion, it has been said, has something of an extraterritorial status in relation to science. By contrast, Freud's approach brings the basic supposi tion of psychotherapy within the realm of science. He regards the psychic apparatus as subject to the same laws of cause and effect that govern the world at large. In such a picture, nothing is left to chance. Every slip of the tongue, every dream fragment, every neurotic symptom, can be traced back to a cause and viewed against the background of the patient's personal experience, conscious or unconscious.^ ^Helen Walker Puner, Freud; His Life and His Mind (New Yorks Dell Publishing Co., inc., 195917 P* 10. 5jan Ehrenwald, From Medicine Man to Freud (New k In fact, Freud*a greatest contribution to under standing of human behavior lies in substantiating this very concept. Through his forty years of academic activity, he succeeded in establishing the fact that accident in human behavior is as impossible as it is in nature, that the law of cause and effect govern not only every phenomenon in nature but every thought, every action, and every movement of man in his everyday business of life. The third, and perhaps the most Important, reason responsible for Freud’s world-wide fame is his successful efforts in developing a new theoretical instrument which opened up a new field of knowledge.^ By placing psycho analysis on a scientific footing, he introduced a principle of Inquiry into the unconscious and Inaccessible forces of the human mind. Many psychologists who disagree with Freud’s own materialism have gratefully adopted many of Freud’s diagnosis, and although he himself was chary about the psychoanalytical technique In serious mental ill ness, more and more psychiatrists now follow his technique, or some adaptation of it. For no other system of thought in modern times, except the great religions, has been adopted by so many people as a systematic interpretation of individual behavior.7 York: Bell Publishing Co., Inc., 19^6), p. 308. ^John Rickman (ed.), A General Selection from the Works of Sljaaund Freud (New York: Doubleday and Co., inc., 195>7)> p. xi. 7 _________'Kazln, on. cit., p. 13.______________________________ II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 5 In his early experiments on the human mind Freud more or less followed the path which had been followed by such researchers as Liebeault, Bernheim and Charcot; but soon revised his method and set out to take a completely different approach* Liebeault, Bernheim, and Charcot had succeeded in treating certain cases of mental illness through hypnosis and were trying to complete hypnotherapy as a panacea for every mental disturbance* Quite impressed by their achievements, Freud undertook to use hypnotherapy on his own patients* However, there were many patients, he soon found out, whom he could not hypnotize— or at least hypnotize to such a deep state as to prove effective for therapy. This situation drew Freudfs attention to a new way of treatment used by Joseph Breuer, a friend of Freud and physician in Vienna. Breuer had succeeded in relieving certain hysterical patients through encouraging them to speak their minds and thus remember the painful incidents of their past lives* Freud soon joined Breuer and the two undertook to investigate into the cause of hysteria in this new light and soon came to the conclusion that certain unconscious activities underlie the apparently inactive mental state of hysterical patients. These unconscious activities, the 6 two researchers theorized, are what in a nontechnical language may be called "a war within*” Certain memories in the patient are forcing their way out into conscious ness but are opposed by some psychic counterforce which is in constant guard against them* This new theory and the new way of treatment was soon integrated into a system of thought called "psycho analysis*" Differing with Breuer on the significance of sexual repressions in development of neurosis, Freud left Breuer to build psychoanalysis into a more scientific system of treatment and to form a body of indisputable evidences upon which the system may withstand the opposi tion of the old schools and skeptical attitude of the coming generations* A few years after departure from Breuer, his Interpretation of Dreams, "which is now considered to be one of the great works of modem times," was published (1900). In I9 0I 1 . his Psychopathology of Everyday Life appeared— in which the author has ingeniously shown how every mistake, every slip of the tongue, and every fault of the memory bears an unmistakable relation with the tinconscious motives of the individual* In the following ®Calvin S* Hall, A Primer of Freudian Psychology (New York: The New American Library, 195>8), ]p* 15. 7 year A Case of Hysteria— an account of the author rs method of tracing the psychological causes of mental illness— was published and was followed by the Three Essays on Sexuality--Preudfs theory on development of the sex instinct— and Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious— how the jokes told by an individual are produced through an unconscious mechanism. After 1912 most of Freud*s time was devoted to directing the newly established Psychoanalytic Society, editing its various publications and conducting its meetings. Between 191f> and 1917 he gave a series of lectures in the University of Vienna, explaining his theories before a general public— just as he had done in 1909 during an invitation to the United States by Clark Univer sity. The lectures given at Clark University were later published as The Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis and those given at the University of Vienna as The General Introduction to Psychoanalysis. His Beyond the Pleasure Principle was published in 1920— giving a new account of factors underlying psychic repression. Three years later The Ego and the Id appeared which was followed by The Future of an Illusion (1927)» Civilization and Its Discontent (1919)* Moses and Monotheism (1939)» concentrating on cultural aspects of psychoanalysis. 8 Consumer Behavior and Freudian Psychology "Freud's contribution," one writer keenly observes "lies in the continuities of whieh he made us aware."9 What are these continuities of whieh Freud made us aware? What relation do they bear with consumer behavi or? Prior to the development of psychoanalysis into a new system of thought, the mechanistic view of the human mind presented man as merely an organism whose motivations were primarily controlled by the mechanism of stimulus and response* Association and dissociation were considered the answer to whys of man's behavior. His economic activities were thought to be singularly Influenced by ideas whieh were associated with his needs and his needs were mainly a function of his station in society. Little attention was paid to what later on came to be known as "the unconscious activities" of the mind. What was really important in the works of Freud was his persistency to look for factors behind human behavior which could not be explained by the phenomenon of stimulus and response or association and dissociation. 9Jerome S. Bruner, "Freud;and the Image of Man," Freud and the 20th Century, ed. Benjamin Nelson (New Yorks Herdian Books, Inc., 19^1+T, p. 281. 9 He discovered that beyond this apparent mechanism of stimulus and response there exists a second consciousness of whose activities the individual is totally unaware and that is far more than being just a mechanical psychic apparatus functioning under the known laws of stimulus and response or association and dissociation. One cannot go wrong by conceiving of this second consciousness as a second self within the individual with a will of its own, invariably controlling the direction of the individ ual's emotions and imposing its will, in an amazingly unrecognizable way, upon the conscious self, Freud’s work on this phase of psychology is of prime importance to consumer economics— although he himself never found the opportunity to relate his findings directly to consumer behavior. His thesis that the major part of man's psychic activity is taking place in the second consciousness, implies that consumer's likes or dislikes are determined by factors and in manners of which he himself has very little awareness. But can we really accept the fact that the reason we buy a certain product for a certain price has something to do with a chain of unconscious activities of which.we are totally unaware? Hardly so, of course. In almost every case we think we know exactly why we are buying the things we buy and for the price we buy. This is of 10 particular importance for the economist who is interested in knowing what makes the consumer behave as he does* The whole argument between the pre-Freudian economic schools and the post-Freudians who have been taking heed of Freud’s theories lies in this very area— namely, the consumer’s awareness of the cause of his likes and dislikes. In the pre-Freudian era the economist paid little attention to this awareness. It was taken for granted that the consumer knows why he likes a certain product or why he is willing to pay a certain amount for it. But the faet is, the Freudian economists point out, that in many cases the consumer has a twisted picture of reality. What he thinks he is seeing in a certain product may not at all be there* The value he conceives for a product may not be anywhere near the real value. For instance, a woman becomes interested in a certain hat and buys it for twice as much as it is worth. When she brings it home she is ready to prove to her husband that she has made a bargain. Has she bought the hat because she really needed it and she had found a bargain? This is what she thinks. But what lies behind her earnestness to buy this particular product for that particular price may have nothing to do either with the bargain or with her need. There is something going on deep within her mind of which she has perhaps no awareness 11 at all* She only feels that she likes the hat very much. It is this feeling, this unknown impulse which persuades her to believe that the price she has paid for it is a bargain price* Such feelings, such unknown and mysterious impulses that cause the consumer to have an exaggerated picture of reality is, the Freudian economist insists, a common phenomenon and influences even the wisest and most experienced consumer in every society* Now,,one may object that "this is pure nonsense." The attitude of many economists today toward Freudian < psychology is very skeptical not so much because they have actually investigated Freud’s theories directly, but because they have heard so much against Freud* It is indeed regretful that what we hear about people changes our attitude and affecis our judgment even though little truth may lie behind what we hear. In the case of Freud the repudiation actually comes from the specialists who notice malpractices of those considering themselves psychoanalysts and charging fantastic amounts for every hour of the so-called "talking cure*" It is surprising how Freud’s name is abused by these practitioners who are making fortunes under the name of psychoanalysts* We economists must be aware of the root of the general opposition against Freud whose discoveries can be 12 of immense help to us. One can appreciate the genius of this man only by thoroughly studying his writings and disregarding the rumors put into circulation by those who are against the unfair practices of Freudian psycho analysts. Whatever anyone may say against Freud, the fact remains that, as Martin W. Peck points out, ’ ’there is little doubt that Freud has gained a foremost place among the great world figures in psychological science.”^0 His momentous contribution to. a novel interpreta tion of human motivation remains, whatever may be the measure of one's assent to or dissent from the psychoanalytic structure. A brilliantly creative mind has left its impress upon an era. We have traveled far in thought from pre-Freudian days.11 III. PREVIEW OF THE COMING CHAPTERS The main elements in the present thesis center around Freud's theory of ’ ’ polarity among human instincts.” The attempt has been mainly focused on analysis of social and economic implications of this polarity. The following chapter sets forth the summary of that theory. Chapter III examines some recent studies substan tiating Freud's theory of instincts. To clarify views discussed in the preceding ^Martin W. Peck, The Meaning of Psychoanalysis (New York; Permabooks, 1950)* p. 15* ^Joseph Jastrow, Freud; His Dream and Sex Theories (New York; Permabooks, 195?9)» P* h* 13 chapters and to furnish some basic psychological insight into the arguments presented throughout the paper, Chaper IV examines the psychology of human needs and of learning* In Chapter V frustration and conflict, as the seed of neurosis, are studied and Freud’s views are in that light analyzed. Chapter VI examines Freud’s view of development of the ego as human personality and formation of the defense mechanism involved in that development* The next and final chapter Integrates the materials presented in previous chapters and draws the following conclusions: 1* Just as there is an apparent tendency in man toward self-preservation, there is also an innate tendency in him toward self-destruction. 2* There exist a psychic mechanism in the human mind preventing the individual of being aware of the latter tendency in himself. 3. Functioning unconsciously, the tendency toward self-destruction influences the individual’s behavior in all spheres of activity, the economic sphere included. if. Freud’s discovery of the death instincts— as illustrated by the tendency toward self-destruetion— suggests that there is an unconscious wish in man, along Ik with a conscious wish to preserve himself and promote his pleasures, to minimize his utility and experience pain, hardship, and ehronie self-destruction* CHAPTER II THE INMOST ESSMCE OP HUMAN NATURE The motive force behind human behavior, according to Freud, is instinctive in origin. Prom this standpoint, man behaves as he does primarily not because of intellectual reasons but because of the Inner, unconscious forces constantly acting upon him. "The inmost essence of human nature," explains Freud, "consists of elemental Instincts whieh are common to all men and aim at the satisfaction of certain primal needs • " " * ■ I. THE FUNCTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM The nervous system is an apparatus whose function it is to abolish stimuli which reach it, or to reduce p excitation to the lowest possible level. In fact, the nervous system Is "an apparatus which would, even if this ^■Sigmund Freud, "Thoughts for Times on War and Death," trans. E. Colburn Mayne, Great Books of the Western World, ed. Robert M. Hutchins (Chicago: Encyclo- pedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), LIV, 758. 2 Sigmund Freud, "Instincts and Their Vicissitude," trans. Cecil M. Baines, ibid., p. l + l l * . . 15 16 were feasible, maintain itself in an altogether unstimu- lated condition."3 Prom a physiological point of view, instincts are, according to Freud, inner stimuli. A stimulus of instinc tual origin does not arise in the outside world but from within the organism itself.^ The nervous system functions as an agent in constant struggle to drive the organism out of the way of the forces of environment so that the instincts would remain dormant, at rest, In a state of relief and perpetual "relaxation.” Any instinct, explains Freud, is an urge inherent in organic life to restore an earlier state of things whieh the living entity has been obliged to abandon under the pressure of external disturbing forces.^ An instinct, as such, ”is a kind of organic elasticity, or, to put it another way, the expression of 6 the Inertia inherent in organic life." II. INSTINCTS HISTORICALLY DETERMINED To explain just what is meant by "the Inertia inherent in organic life," Freud calls attention to the 3Freud, loc. cit. ^Ibid.. p. ifl2. c ^Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, trans. James Strachey (New Yorks Bantam Books, 195>9)* P« 67. & Freud, loc. cit. 17 conservative nature of all living substances. In every living being, he says, instinct is a product of foregoing lives of each particular species, and thus is historically determined. Certain fishes, for instance, undertake laborious migrations at spawning-time in order to deposit their spawn in particular waters far away from where they presently live. The germ of a living animal, furthermore, is obliged in the course of its development to undergo, even if only in a transient and abbreviated fashion, all the forms from which it is sprung, instead of proceeding quickly by the shortest path to its final shape. Many other such instances support the hypothesis that all instincts tend toward the restoration of an earlier condition. III. THE PHENOMENA OP LIFE Acceptance of the view that all instincts, whether in man or other living beings, tend toward the restoration of an earlier condition brings us to the strange conclu sion that the purpose of life in all animate beings is return to the most primitive form. And, if life may be said to have somehow or another sprung up from an inorganic state, then the purpose of all life,,it may be logically concluded, is simply a return to an Inorganic state— death. 18 The attributes of life, says Freud, were at some time evoked in inanimate matter by the action of a force of whose nature we can form no conception* It may perhaps have been a process similar in type to that whieh later caused the development of conscious ness in a particular stratum of living matter. The tension which then arose in what had hitherto been an inanimate substance endeavoured to cancel Itself out* In this way the first instinct came into being; the instinct to return to the inanimate state* It was still an easy matter at that time for a living sub stance to die; the course of its life was probably only a brief one, whose direction was determined by the chemical structure of the young life. For a long time, perhaps, living substance was thus being con stantly created afresh and easily dying, till decisive external influences altered in such a way as to oblige the still surviving substance to diverge ever more widely from its original course of life and to make ever more complicated detours before reaching its aim of death* These circuitous “paths to death, faithfully kept to by the conservative instincts, would thus present us today with the picture of the phenomena of life*7 IV. GERM-CELLS WORKING AGAINST THE DEATH OF THE LIVING SUBSTANCE But if the aim of all life is thus death, if instincts are in reality conservative agents endeavoring to return the organism to its earlier state of existence, and more precisely, to inorganic state, then what of the instinct of self-preservation whose existence in all animate beings is singularly beyond doubt? How can we account for these two sets of opposing instincts which are 7 'Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, p. 71* 19 in constant battle to each win its way? The environmental pressure which provokes a, constantly increasing extent of development, Freud argues, has not imposed itself upon every organism evenly. Many have thus remained at their most primitive form. Others have undergone a deeper change. The whole path of development to natural death is not trodden by all the elementary entities which compose the complicated body of one of the higher organism. Some of them (the germ-eells) probably retain the original structure of living matter and, after a certain*time, with their acquired instinctual dispositions, separate themselves from the organism. Under favorable conditions they begin to develop and repeat the performance to which they owe their existence. In the end once again one portion of their substance pursues its development to a finish, while another portion harks back once again as a fresh residual germ to the beginning of the process of development. These gem-cells, therefore, work against the death of the living substance and succeed in winning for it what we can only regard a potential immortality, though that may mean no more than a lengthening of the road to death. We must regard as in the highest degree significance the fact that this function of the germ-cell is reinforced, or only made possible if it coalesces with another cell similar to itself and yet differing from it.8 8Ibid., pp. 73-74 20 V. THE SEXUAL INSTINCTS Th© instincts which watch over the destinies of these germ-cells that survive the whole individual, which provide them with a safe shelter while they are defense less against the forces of the external world, which bring about their meeting with other germ-cells--these, Freud concludes, constitute th© group of the sexual instincts. Although they are conservative in the sense that all instincts are conservative and strive to bring back earlier state of existence, yet they practice their conservatism through resistance against the external influences and thus they actually function as life- preservers, protecting the germ-cells and providing condi- i tions in which they may undisturbedly continue their scheme of development and decay. They are the true life instincts* They operate against the purpose of other instincts, which leads, by reason of their function, to death; and this fact indicates that there is an opposition between them and the other instincts. . . . It is as though the life of the organism moved with a vacillating rhythm. One group of instincts rushes forward so as to reach the final aim of life as swiftly as possible; but when a particular stage in the advance has been reached, the other group jerks back to a certain point to make a fresh start and so prolong the journey.9 9Ibid., pp. 7^-75 21 VI. DEATH INSTINCTS VERSUS SEXUAL INSTINCTS Prom the foregoing hypothesis, Freud derives the idea that there exist, on the whole, only two groups of instincts in the living substance. The ego instincts (to which Freud also refers as "death instincts") arise from the coming to life of inanimate matter and seek to restore the inanimate state. The second group are the "sexual instincts," which strive by every possible means to unite the elementary entities— germ-cells— into a single body or group. Through an unceasing opposition between these two sets of instincts (ego instincts and sexual instincts), prolongation of life takes place. VII. THE MOTIVE FORCE BEHIND THE ACTIVITIES OF ALL INSTINCTS Although there exists, according.to Freud, a constant opposition, within the living substance— between the ego instincts and the sexual instincts, the former striving to shorten the path to the inorganic state, the latter to prolong it— yet the motive force behind the activities of these instincts is but a single force, namely, the force to seek freedom from excitation. But freedom from excitation is sought from two different routes by the two groups of instincts. Whereas the ego Instincts tend to take tbs shortest route to 22 quiescence of the inorganic world, the sexual instincts tend to prolong the journey through every possible means. At either case, however, the motive force works on the basis of the pleasure principle. That is, no matter whieh of the two groups of instincts momentarily or conclusively win their way, the process gives the organism a pleasure which, in the final analysis, constitutes the very essence of life. If the ego instincts succeed in taking the organism to their own way, the pleasure principle is at work and the organism has the satisfaction of having a group of its instincts satisfied* If, on the other hand, the sexual instincts achieve success in prolonging the way to inorganic existence, the organism again has the pleasure of finding an equally important portion of its instinctual impulses satisfied. The pleasure principle, as such, according to Freud, is the motive force behind the activities of living substances— all the way up to human beings and beyond. VIII. SELF-DESTRUCTION VERSUS SELF-PRESERVATION The existence of two opposing groups of instincts * in living beings, as Freud*s theories explain, bears significant Implications with regard to behavior of such beings in general and that of man in particular. 23 Up to a few years ago, the Idea that self- preservation is the law of life, unreservedly governing the actions of men, was in an unchallengeable position. It was universally believed that the motive force behind man’s behavior was but a single instinctual force, namely, to perpetuate life at any price and to keep on struggling with the external factors in opposition to survival of the individual. This struggle, it was generally accepted, went on with full force until the individual’s life energy was in one way or another exhausted and overbalanced by the external factors and death was thus invited to creep in. Little attention was paid to the destructive impulses in man and no suspicion was aroused as to whether the extinction of life had much to do with such impulses rather than opposing factors in the external world. IX. FREUD’S THEORY OF DEATH INSTINCTS CHALLENGING THE CONVENTIONAL ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS Along with that concept went unchallenged the idea that in their sphere of economic activity men acted as rational animals whose hidden as well as apparent purpose In life undividedly centered upon perpetuating a happy and healthy life. The consumer, it was believed— 2k and Is still believed bj a great majority of economists-- had a fairly clear picture of his ends in his mind and rationally economized his income as well as his energy in the attainment of those ends* He maximized, in other words, his utilities* The idea of rationality of consumer behavior, taken in its general and not exceptional sense is, under the available statistical Information, hard to challenge* Yet recent studies by some eminent psychologists and psychoanalysts in substantiating Freud's theory of death instincts in man, compel us to be more careful in having a great confidence in the conventional assumptions with regard to motives that control consumer's mind* Before arriving at any conclusive statement as to what Freud's concept of the pleasure principle can tell us about Mman in his ordinary business of life,” it may prove useful, however, to take a look at what some recent studies on instinctual vicissitudes in man indicate* CHAPTER III RECENT STUDIES AND FREUD'S THEORY OF POLARITY AMONG INSTINCTS As we noticed above, some recent psychological findings indicate that human behavior is partially controlled by unconscious instinctual motives which strive for a return to inorganic state of existence and which express this impulse through a variety of channels generally resembling urge for destruction. I. MAN AGAINST HIMSELF In the last three decades a number of elaborate studies have been made in an attempt to find the source and variations of the urge for destruction in man. The unconscious impulses whose intensity and function were but little known up to a few years ago have interested many researchers whose findings have shed a new light on human behavior. Among these researchers, Karl A. Menninger, former president of the American Psychoanalytic Association and professor of psychiatry at the University of Kansas, has successfully shown that destructive tendencies in man, projected either against himself or the external world, is 25 26 by no means an exceptional phenomenon peculiar to mentally imbalanced people. It is nothing new, he writes, that the world is full of hate, that men destroy one another, and that our civilization has arisen from the ashes of despoiled peoples and decimated natural resources. But to relate the destructiveness, this evidence of a spiritual malignancy within us, to an instinct, and to correlate this instinct with the beneficient and fruitful instinct associated with love, this was one of the later flowers of the genius of Freud. One would expect that in the face of • . . over whelming blows at the hands of Fate or Nature, man would oppose himself steadfastly to death and destruc tion in a universal brotherhood of beleaguered humanity. But this is not the case. Whoever studies the behavior of human beings cannot eseape the conclu sion that we must reckon with an enemy within the lines. It becomes increasingly evident that some of the destruction which eurses the earth Is self- destruction; the extraordinary propensity of the human being to join hands with external forces in an attack upon his own existence is one of the most remarkable of biological phenomena.2 II. DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSE AS AN INSTINCT IN EVERY LIVING SUBSTANCE IN NATURE The destructive instincts in man, Menninger explains, display themselves as early as the moment of ^■See the very interesting article on this phase of the subject by Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, "Remarks on the Philosophy of Mental Disorder," A Study of Interpersonal Relations, ed. Patrick Mullahy (New Yorks Grove Press, Inc., l95>7), PP. 162-91. p Karl Menninger, Man against Himself (New York; Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1936), pp. vi’ i-Ij.. 27 birth and grow active everafter aide by side with the life instincts* These two groups of instincts, unceasingly in opposition all the way through life, appearing under a variety of masks and dressing in innumerable shapes, exert themselves in what in the final analysis may be called love and hate or construction and destruction* The destructiveness in the world, Menninger emphasizes, is not only a force in-nature which strives to bring extinction upon life in plants and animals, is not only an external factor which seeks to destroy (return to a previous form) everything which is-constructed in nature— including man— but is also an internal foree which takes cruel pleasure in self-destruction* In the end, says Menninger, each man kills himself in his own way, fast or slow, soon or late. We all feel this, vaguely; there are so many occasions to witness it before our eyes* The methods are legion and it is these which attract our attention* Some of them interest lawyers and priests, some of them interest heart specialists, some of them interest sociologi sts.3 Suicide, for instance, according to Menninger, is only one of many ways through which man's destructive instincts reach their goal* It is a peculiar kind of death which entails three internal elements: the element of dying, the element of killing, and the element of being killed. All the three elements, however, are but the 3Ibid*, p* vii* 28 vicissitudes of the same force—-ego instincts* Menninger1s account of suicide, as will be shown in a moment, throws light on a number of manfs patterns of behavior for which a logical explanation is usually hard to find* III. UTILITY MAXIMIZATION AS WISHFUL THINKING IN ECONOMIC CIRCLES Few of us ever come to the verge of suicide, but almost all of us can constantly discover instances in our own lives in which our ego instincts (death or destructive Instincts) seek satisfaction by leading us to painful situations*^ To an economist this may seem strange and easily refutable. The economist is usually so strongly accus tomed to the idea of utility maximization that he can hardly conceive of the existence of a self-destructive impulse in man. Yet, incredible as it sounds to us, there may be something of truth in it if we prepare ourselves to examine it more closely. After all, the consumer is a human being and his behavior, whether in the economic ^■Qulte a few remarkable books and articles have been recently published by those concentrating their academic efforts on Investigating into the behavior of death instinct in man* Ludwig EidelbergTs The Lark Urge is a fine example of such publications. See specially Chap. 11, ’ ’Pleasure through Pain” (New York: Pyramid Books, lQol), pp. 103-113 * _______ ________ 29 sphere or other areas, is human-behavior and is controlled through a unified mechanism* IV. PROJECTION OP DESTRUCTIVENESS TOWARD THE EXTERNAL WORLD At any rate, coming back to Menningerfs account of suicide and the three elements composing suicide (the element of dying, of killing, and that of being killed) we find that destructiveness turned back against the self may change its course and project itself upon the external world. The change takes place through the defensive act of life instincts (sexual instincts) which strive to grow strong and continue life. Defense takes place often unconsciously and then, if it is successful enough, the ego instincts seek pleasure through projecting their aggressiveness toward the outside world. Freud himself explains this mechanism by showing that an instinct exerts itself (seeks satisfaction) in one of the four following ways: (1) reversal into its opposite, (2) turning round upon the subject, (3) repres sion, and ( I j . ) sublimation* V. SADISTIC BEHAVIOR: A SUBSTITUTION FOR SELF-PROJECTED DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSE reversal of an Instinct Into its opposite,‘ 30 says Freud, resolves into two different processes: a change from active to passive (or vice versa) and a reversal of the content* When the defensive power of sexual instincts overbalance the power of ego instincts, the latter reverse their course and become aggressive toward the external world* In such a case the sadistic tendencies grow strong in the individual and any form of destruction inflicted upon any being around him gives him a pleasant feeling* The individual becomes aggressive and cherishes enmity not only with whatever and whoever standing in his way but also toward the very object of his love, and even toward his friends* That is because the ego instincts, energized with an unsatiable thirst to demolish life and everything beneficial to it, can only seek pleasure and can only seek it through destruction. VI. THE FOUR-FOLD CLASSIFICATION REDUCIBLE TO THREE When the sadistic tendencies are strong in the individual the ego instincts have undergone the process of reversal into their opposite. This process is, as we shall see in a moment, almost identical with the process of turning around upon the subject. When Freud was writing his Instincts and Their Vicissitudes (1915)» he still had not developed his theory 31 of pleasure-principle (1916-1920) and could not make a clear distinction between the life and death instincts and their functions and tendencies* He was then speaking of instincts in passive and active states* If they were not projecting themselves against the external world they were passive and they became active only when they did so* In his Instincts and Their Vicissitudes, therefore, in enumerating the four vicissitudes an instinct may undergo, Freud attributes the process of reversal only to the aim of an instinct without being able to explain why an instinct should suddenly reverse its aim. Speaking of the reversal of an instinct into its opposite he then wrote: The reversal • • • may on closer scrutiny be resolved Into two different processes: a change from active into passive, and a reversal of the content. The two processes, being essentially distinct, must be treated separately* Examples of the first process are met within the two pairs of opposite: sadlsm-raasochism and scopto- philia-exhibitlonism* The reversal here concerns only the aims of the instincts* The passive aim (to be tortured, or looked at) has been substituted for the aetive aim (to torture, to look at). Reversal of content is found in the single Instance of the change of love Into hate.5 But later on, when his essay on Beyond the ^Sigmund Freud,"Instincts and Their Vicissitudes,” trans* Cecil M. Baines, Great Books of the Western World. ed. R* M. Hutchins (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), liv, las. 32 Pleasure Principle was completed his notion of the reversal of an instinct into its opposite could be more scientifically explained* Under the new light it was recognized that instincts do not (cannot) really reverse their aim* It is only the triumph of one group of instinctual tendencies over another which turns a maso- chist into a sadist:— passive into active* VII. THE PROCESS OP REPRESSION AND SUBLIMATION To follow his argument on the third and fourth vicissitudes which an instinct may undergo (repression and sublimation), let us take a look at his views on mental mechanism prior to the publication of Beyond the Pleasure Principle which was a significant turning point in development of his theories* Freud’s theory of repression began to appear in a series of articles as early as 1893 (Papers on Hysteria* 1893-1908). Speaking of hysteria (emotional excitability, excessive anxiety, sensory and motor disturbances, simula tion of organic disorders— such as blindness, deafness, 0 and so forth) in 1893 F**®u.d concluded that fright (psychic-trauma) was the underlying cause of hysterical disturbances. ’ ’Every experience which produces the painful 33 effect of fear, anxiety, shame, or of psychic pain may act as trauma,” he explained.^ In curing hysterical patients Freud first tried Bemheim’s method in which treatment was attempted through hypnosis* He encountered, however, great difficulties in hypnotizing many of his patients. Why this was the ease he was first unable to explain, but he was observing that in some patients the obstacle was clearly caused by refusal of the patient to submit to hypnosis. The idea then occurred to him that whether the patient showed his refusal in an outright manner or accepted the method but was unable to be hypnotized, the element of fear of the method was in both cases present--ln the first case consciously, in the second subconsciously* Those who entertain psychic doubts against hypnosis, it was known to Freud, are not hypnotizable--it makes no difference whether they express their unwillingness or not.7 ^Sigmund Freud, ”The Psychic Mechanism of Hysterical Phenomena,” trans. A. A. Brill, ibid., p. 26. ?Freud visited the Haney and Bernheim Clinics where the French pioneers of the art of hypnosis had established a world-wide reputation in curing hysterical patients through hypnotism. Here Freud saw Llebault's method and was surprised of his power to put the majority of his patients under somnambulic state. ”1 heard Dr* Liebault, the old master of hypnotism say,” Freud relates, ”'yes, if we had the means to put everybody into somnam bulic state, hypnotism would then be the most powerful therapeutic agent* 1 1 In Bernheim^ Clinic it almost seemed 3^ VIII* THE DISCOVERY UPON WHICH PSYCHOANALYSIS WAS BASED Freud had to dispense, therefore, with hypnotism and find another method by which to bring cure not only to those hysterical patients who could be easily hypnotized but also to those who could not be put under hypnotic sleep. Says Freud: On asking my patients during our first interview whether they remembered the first motive for the symptom in question, some said that they knew nothing, while others thought of something which they desig nated as an indistinct recollection, yet were unable to pursue it* I then followed Bemheim’s example of forcibly awakening apparently forgotten impressions from somnambulism* I assured them that they did know it, and they would recall it, etc., and in this way some thought of something, while in others the recol lection went even further. I urged still more, I ordered the patient to lie down and voluntarily shut his eyes so as to concentrate his mind, and I then discovered that without any hypnosis there emerged new and retrospective reminiscences which probably belonged to our theme. Through such experiences, I gained the impression that through urging alone it would really be possible to bring to light the definitely existing pathogenic series of ideasj and as this larging necessitated much exertion on my part, and showed me that I had to overcome a resistance, I therefore formulated this whole state of affairs into the following theory: through my psychic work _I had that such art really existed, and that it could be learned from Bernheim* But as soon as I tried to practice that at least my powers were quite limited in this respect. Whenever a patient did not sink into the somnambulic state after one or two attempts, I possessed no means to force him into it." Freud, "Selected Papers on Hysteria," trans. A. A. Brill, Ibid., p. 32* 35 to overcome a psychic force in the patient which opposed the pathogenic idea from becoming conscious [underlining is Freud(remembered)* A new insight seemed to have revealed itself to me when it occurred to me that this must really be the same psychic force which assisted in the origin of the hysterical symptom, and which at that time prevented the patho genic idea from becoming conscious.® This little discovery of Freud— the discovery that the psychic force which prevents certain ideas in hysterical patients to become conscious lies at the very root of hysterical symptoms— became the cornerstone of psychoanalysis and opened new vistas into the depth of the human mind. It now became apparent for Freud that there existed a resistance in the patient's ego against certain happenings of the past— happenings too painful to dwell upon, too shameful to dare to think of, or too fearful to come near to. IX. A PSYCHIC MECHANISM CHEATED THROUGH EVOLUTION There must exist, deducted Freud from these observations, a mechanism in human mind functioning as a repressive agent, eliminating from consciousness any idea whose presence in that realm proves interfering* Such mechanism of psychic defense must have come into existence through millions of years of evolution, in accordance with 8Ibld., p. 65. 36 the same general principle under which physical (bodily) defense mechanism is evolved. Just as upon th© arrival of a microbe at any department of the body the defense mechanism is automatically aroused to repel the microbe and protect th© tissue from disturbing effects, so is with the mind and arrival of thoughts which would disturb the normal psychic functions. The only difference, however, is that, in contrast to microbes, a thought cannot be destroyed. When the white corpuscles succeed to destroy microbes the fight is all over. But when an Incident creates a painful thought, the thought is going to live, so to speak, as long as the defensive power of the ego remains unchallengeable. But if the ego is not strong enough to keep the painful reminiscences in prison, if for any reason a rebellion could be dared among such prisoners, and if such painful reminiscences became so numerous as to overpower protective force of the ego, then the individual’s serenity is undermined and internal turmoil underway.^ ^Freud wrote in 1910: "The neurosis takes, in our time, the place of the cloister, in which were accustomed to take refuge all those who . . . felt them selves too weak for life. Let me give you at this point the main result at whieh we have arrived by the psycho analytic investigation of neurotics, namely, that neuroses have no peculiar psychic content of their own, which is not also to be found in healthy states; or as C. G. Jung has expressed it, neurotics fall ill of the same complexes 37 X, UNIVERSALITY OP NEUROSIS BLUNTLY IGNORED IN CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC CIRCLES But how do th© painful reminiscences react when the ego becomes weak? How would the ego behave in the midst of such turmoil? How often and how far such an upheaval occurs in any individual’s life? Is the study of such upheavals a matter singularly belonging to abnormal psychology? What has all this to do with economics any way? Incredible though It seems, It has quite a bit to do with economics. Further, the subject does not belong singularly to abnormal psychology. Nor Is the neurotic behavior a rare phenomenon in the economically developed areas of the globe. In fact, mild neurosis, as it will be shown in the coming pages, is a widespread phenomenon in the modern world. To examine this claim we should first take a glance at the highlights of general psychology. The following chapter attempts to furnish this need. with which we found people struggle. It depends on quan titative relationships, on the relations of the forces wrestling with each other, whether the struggle leads to health, to a neurosis, or to compensatory overfunctioning." Freud, "The Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis," trans. Harry W. Chase, ibid. pp. 18-19, CHAPTER IV FORMATION OF PERSONALITY As we noticed above, some researchers have discovered a propensity in human nature toward self- destruction. This discovery undermines the old-established notion that self-preservation is the first law of life* Along with many other prominent researchers, Karl Menninger has ingeniously shown that the destructiveness caused by man through the recorded history has an internal root in the individual human being. The instinct of self-preserva tion functions in man exist side by side with the equally opposite force of self-destruction. We are inherently disposed to destroy ourselves and unconsciously take a great pleasure in this destruction. Yet we are extremely fond of our existence and strive to avoid extinction. I. THE PARADOX OF SELF-PRESERVATION How can this paradoxical condition be explained? Menninger believes that the best theory to account for this strange phenomenon is Freud's hypothesis of a death- instinct, or primary impulses of destructiveness opposed by a life-instinct or primary impulses of creativeness and constructiveness. 38 39 According to Freud it is the various phases of interaction between these two groups of primary impulses which constitute the psychological and biological phenom ena of life. The destructive and constructive tendencies, believes Freud, are originally self-directed but become increasingly extraverted through birth, growth, and life- experiences, The individual finds it pleasurable to express aggressiveness and endeavors to find occasions and objects upon which this aggressiveness may be projected. At the same time he takes an equal enjoyment in expressing pity, in having compassion for others and sympathizing with them. His aggressive tendency ”is followed by an extraversion of the erotic or constructive tendencies which by fusion with the former may achieve varying degrees of neutralization of the destructiveness from total to almost none."I When the individual encounters too severe an opposition from the external world toward which M s aggressive tendencies are projected and when such projec tion is forcibly interrupted by powerful adverse events the destructive as well as constructive impulses (the life and death instincts) revert back upon the person of their ■^Karl Menninger, Man against Himself (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1938)# P* 72. J+o origin and make the self the object of their pleasure* Here again, if defusion occurs, the destructive tendencies lead and may permanently prevail so that self-destruction to a lesser or greater degree super venes; and that in this even one can trace evidences of the wish to kill and the wish to be killed, and also the erotized forms of these two wishes.2 If, on the other hand, the self-destructive impulses are overpowered by the constructive ones, the internal war may for some short period cease at the expense of too severe an internal tension created by too tight a supervision from the constructive over destructive impulses. But since there is no channel through which the latter could neutralize its instinctual energy the super vision will soon lose its force and a "partial or chronic self-destruction" will prevail.- 3 II. FORMATION OF HUMAN ATTITUDES AND PREFERENCES To examine this chronic self-destruction, to see how and why the individual fails to have his self- destructive impulses project themselves upon the external world instead of the self, and to see just how and why all this ties with consumer behavior, we have to take a glance at what psychologists have to tell us about formation of human preferences, attitudes, prejudices, and complexes. ?Ibid. 2 Ibid ij-l The biologist Herbert S. Jennings in his book, The Behavior of Lower Organisms shows how significant a role learning plays in the life of not only man and animals, but all living beings down to the lowly amoeba. Every organism, he points out, is a bundle of needs whose satisfaction involves encountering problems. Solution of such problems calls for experience! and learning is the process through which experience is accumulated. III. THE TABULA RASA OP JOHN LOCKE Though quite interested in issues concerning edu cation, in the former centuries researchers paid little attention to the learning process itself. Among philosophers, John Locke was an exception to come very close, in his investigations on human behavior, to treat learning much the same way as many of the modern psych ologists. According to his well-known theory of tabula rasa, the mind of a newborn human being is a clean slate which receives impressions as he experiences the environ ment. Speaking of the steps by which the mind acquires its experiences, he writes: The senses at first let in particular ideas and furnish the yet empty cabinet, and the mind by degrees growing familiar with some of them, they are lodged in the memory, and names got to them. Afterwards, - the mind proceeding further, abstracts them, and by degrees learns the use of general names. In this manner the mind comes to be furnished with ideas and k? language, the material about which to exercise its discursive faculty. And the use of reason becomes daily more visible, as these materials that give it employment increase* But though the having of general ideas and the use of general words and reason usually grow together, yet I see not how this in any way proves them innate. The knowledge of truths, I confess, is very early in the mind but in a way that shows them.not to be innate.4 IV. LEARNING AND UNCONSCIOUS MENTAL PROCESSES But John Locke paid little attention to what later on was known as the unconscious mental processes. Johann Friedrich Herbart was the first to draw attention to relationship of learning with unconscious activities of the mind. He showed how learned materials tend to cross into unconscious to reappear later on in life.^ His theories were great contributions to appearance of psycho analytic schools the first of which was launched by Freud in the close of the Nineteenth Century. The relation of learning with unconscious mental ^-John Locke, "An Essay Concerning Human Under standing," Great Books of the Western World, ed. R. M. Hutchins (Chicago: Encyclopedia kritannica, Inc., 1952), XXXV, 98-99* ^See Johann Friedrich Herbart, The Application of Psychology to the Science of Education, trans. Beatrice C. Mulliner 1 New York: Charles Scribner^ Sons, 1898), pp. l87-22ij.; also his A B C of Sense-Perception, trans. William J. Eckoff (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1903), PP. 132-259. k3 processes is the relation of environment with individual’s effort to adjust his needs with the opposing forces surrounding him. If life, as Herbert Spencer says, is the continuous adjustment of internal to external relation, learning can be regarded as the process through which this f t adjustment takes place. But since the conscious mental activities are necessarily limited in seope, adjustment of internal to external relations become in a great part an unconscious mental activity. As one psychoanalyst puts it: In the unconscious are stored all the memories of the past, all that has been learned and experienced, ready for our use when we need them. The conscious must be kept clear of these past experiences until needed, in order to meet the new experiences of today and those anticipated for tomorrow. Life begins anew each day but our approach to the new day and our attitude toward each new day’s events are colored by our past experiences and how we reacted to them. The way we react today will largely depend upon our reactions of the past. Consciously we are unaware of the Influence of unconscious,7 although sometimes we ask ourselves, ”now, what made me do that? What made me act so foolishly?”8 °See Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Psychology. Vol. II (Hew York: D. Appleton and Company, lHB?)$ pp. 521-38. ^Another psychoanalyst goes as far as to say "We maintain that eight-ninths of all our actions are guided by our unconscious and that consciousness as such is nothing but an organ of perception,” A. A. Brill, Basic Principles of Psychoanalysis (New York: Washington Square Press, 196oT7 pTlZjri Q Prank S. Caprio, Why We Behave as We Do (New York: Popular Library, 195*577 P« li+* ilk FT V. THE INGREDIENTS OF PERSONALITY At any rate, aa we grow in age we learn certain patterns of behavior which become the determinants of our actions and reactions. We become predisposed to display certain emotional reactions toward objects, persons, and ideas. In this way our preferences, attitudes, preju dices, and complexes are formed. The mildest form of emotional coloring are preferences or likes and dislikes. When simple preferences become attached to a greater degree of emotional force they are ealled attitudes. Attitudes may become highly charged with emotion and resistant to change. An attitude which is firmly fixed is known as a prejudice. A complex is an attitude that is accompanied by excessive emotion, often leading to neurotic types of response.^ Our preferences, attitudes, prejudices, and complexes are the ingredients from which our personality is formed. These ingredients are in turn produced through conditioning. VI. THE PROCESS OF PERSONALITY FORMATION Any psychological process is response of organism ^Ernest R. Hilgard, Introduction to Psychology (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co•, 195>3)> pp. 128-29. to stimulation* Any stimulation of the organism results in a response* Human beings and animals, which are referred to in psychology as organism are reacting mechanism. The stimulus is the causing factor* Integration, or co-ordination, of reaction is provided by the organ ism* The reaction of the organism is an event resulting from stimulation and integration. These three related factors make up the S-I-R formula of psychological activity.10 Psychologists speak of stimulus as ”any form of energy acting upon a sense organ and arousing some activity of the organism.”11 The stimulus may be pressure on the skin, light entering the eye, sound entering the ear, and so forth. ”A response is any activity of the organism ■ I p that is aroused by a given stimulus*" The chain of.activities aroused by different stimuli in human beings is the process through which personality is gradually formed* ”As a result of the con stant interaction between human beings and the environ ments in which we live, something is shaped that is called the personality.Accordingly, if it were possible to l^Douglas H. Fryer, Edwin E. Henry, and Charles P. Sparks,,General Psychology (fourth edition; Hew York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 195^)»"p• 17* ^Robert S* Woodworth, Psychology (second edition; New Yorks Henry Holt and Co*, I929), P* 22o. 12Ibid* l^Edward A. Strecker, Basic Psychiatry (New York: Random House, 1952), P* 1|9* 1* 6 record the developmental processes of any individual’s personality, the record would be a composite but precise picture of all previous life happenings, great and small, every thought, every feeling, every bit of conduct* VII. CONDITIONING AS THE FRAME OF - REFERENCE OF HUMAN PERSONALITY According to John B. Watson, the famous behavior- ist psychologist, personality represents the development of conditioned reactions* To control the environmental conditions under which an individual develops from birth onward is to determine the kind of person he eventually will become. Says Watson: The main point to emphasize is that practically every responding organ of the body can be conditioned; and that this conditioning takes place not only throughout adult life but can and does take place daily from the moment of birth (in all probability before birth) *■‘ ■4 From a general viewpoint, therefore, conditioning is the controlling factor in human behavior. We see that even desires which are usually the motive force behind man’s actions, "are often conditioned and culturally determined, and have no obvious corresponding needs, as ■^John B. Watson, Behaviorism (second edition; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959)* PP* 38“39* 1*7 is the case with alcohol and tobacco*”1^ In fact, as one author has rightly concluded, "we live up to our conditioning not our ideals* Conditioning is thus a frame of reference for the understanding of human personality* In conditioning, one j psychologist points out, We have a key to the interpretation of all sorts of irrational likes and dislikes, pet peeves and preferences, manias and.phobias, and the innumerable big and little emotional attachments we find in our selves and in other persons. One adult of the writerfs acquaintance experiences an almost uncanny warmth and friendliness toward pink china ware, which can be explained by his having had his porridge and cereal from a pink bowl during his infant years. Another confesses to a dread of houses with arched windows, an aversion traceable to the shape of the windows in a mousetrap he now recalls from his fourth year, from which captured mice would be released on the lawn as game for the excited dog and even more excited children* Every clinical psychologist is constantly running into symptoms which have no sensible or rational explanation, except as things that have been acquired by his patients through little more than accidental associations.1? ^Warner Brown and C* Gilhousen, College Psych ology (Englewood-Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentiee-Hall, Inc•• 19^0), p. 223. ^Andrew Salter, Conditioned Reflex Therapy (New York: Creative Age Press, 191+9) > P•" 35>• John P. Dashiell, Fundamentals of General Psychology (third edition; New York: Houghton Mifflin Co*, 196.9 ) , P. 223. lj.8 VIII. WATSON'S EXPERIMENTS Conditioning is in effect learning emotional reactions• The infant's emotional reaction to any stimulus consists of undifferentiated and diffused responses. As growth and learning continue emotional tendencies become attached to persons, objects, and ideas. These tendencies are variously known as attitudes, prejudices, complexes, or cathexes. Watson*s experiments with Albert, the eleven- month-old baby living In the hospital, furnishes a famous example of learned emotional reactions. Watson had noticed that only loud voice and removal of support could produce fear in the child. But when a white rat was presented along with the loud voice or removal of support Albert became conditioned to express fear by merely seeing the rat. Ever after, anything similar to the rat in color, shape, or even movement would arouse some degr®® of avoidance in the child. Watson thought only three types of emotional reactions are Inherent In humans and that all other emo tional reactions aro merely associative learned reactions established through conditioned reflex*. The three were: withdrawing, attacking, and attract!on--corresponding, respectively,.with fear, anger, and love. Fear is an 1 * 9 Impulse associated with such feelings as insecurity, worry, dread, anxiety, nervousness, embarrassment, and jealousy. Anger is an impulse associated with obstinacy, vexation, irritation and sullenness. Love becomes asso ciated with submission, affection, passion, repentence, delight, and devotion* By elaborate experiments with infants Watson showed how, through conditioning, human beings acquire and lose their emotional reactions. "We can,” he then con cluded, "change the personality as easily as we can change the shape of the nose, only it takes more time.”^® IX. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EARLY YEARS To change human personality, according to Watson, there must be both unlearning the things the individual has already learned (and the unlearning may be an active unconditioning or just disuse) and learning the new things (through active conditioning). Yet the fact remains that emotional reaction acquired in early childhood are the hardest to unlearn and the more the individual advances in age the more time and effort the changing of the long-established emotional reactions take. As one psychologist puts it: X 8 Watson, o£. cit., p. 302. 50 The developmental history of the individual, beginning in early childhood and continuing to maturity, will usually provide the facts necessary for understanding his emotional tendencies* And we must realize that these emotional tendencies, the result of years of training and experience, cannot be changed overnight, or even in a few weeks or months. Obviously, then, the best place to start training for emotional control is in early childhood.*9 X. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY NEEDS In the foregoing pages we spoke of personality as the sum total of human preferences, attitudes, prejudices, and complexes. All these ingredients of personality are, as we noticed above, learned emotional reactions. Although these learned emotional reactions are often the most important determinants of behavior, yet they are not the only ones. Behavior is in part regulated by basic physiological needs of which the most important are hunger, thirst, sex, and rest.^® Some psychologists classify these needs as primary and those arising from learned emotional reactions as secondary, arguing that: Needs have a qualitative aspect which makes It possible for us to distinguish such primary needs as those for food, sex, thermal constancy, elimination, ^■%endell W. Cruze, General Psychology for College Students (Englewood-Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.7 1951), PP. ij-7^-75. 20Hilgard, op. cit., p. 117. $1 etc., and secondary needs as those for superiority, submission, affiliation, freedom, inviolacy, etc.2* In fact, in the civilized portion of the earth secondary needs among human beings occupy a far more important place than the primary ones. It is not hard to see how much of our needs In the western world, for instance, are learned needs. To be sure, all needs have a physiological basis.22 However, as one psychologist points outs Few drives and new incentives may be acquired through experience. The end result Is that the desire for learned incentives is the equivalent of a need, so that in the absence of the incentive there are signs of deprivation just as there are when physiological needs are unsatisfied.23 XI. EVER-EXPANDING LEARNED EMOTIONAL NEEDS AND MAN’S INNER INTEGRITY A look at Table I will show how important a place our learned needs occupy in our lives as compared with our unlearned (biological) needs. It is really difficult, however, to determine definitely what needs are instinctual and what learned. The line is sometimes so 23-Edwin G. Boring, Herbert S. Langfeld, and Harry P. Weld, Introduction to Psychology (New York: John Willey and Sons, Inc., I9I 4M , p. I03. 22Fryer, Henry, and Spark, o£. cit., p. 2ij.8. 23HIlgard, o£. cit., p. 173* 5 2 narrow that one may well reject the idea of learned needs and conclude they are only variations of instinctual Impulses. Nevertheless, the fact remains that social life arouses in us needs which otherwise would remain considerably dormant. TABLE I POOLED RATINGS OF THE STRENGTH OF i ^ i j . BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL DRIVES AND MOTIVES* Drive or Motive Rated Strength Drive or Motive Rated Strength Appetite-hunger . • » 9.2 Bodily comfort. • # • 1 4 Love of offspring . • 9.1 Possession . . • « • 8.1 + Health . . . . . . • 9.0 Approval*by others. • 8.0 Sex attraction . . • 8.9 Gregariousness • • • 7*2 Paternal affection • 8.9 Taste . . . . . • • • 7.8 Ambition * 8.6 Personal appearance » 7.8 Pleasure . . . . . • 8.6 Safety........ • • • 7.8 Cleanliness • • . • • 7.7 Warmth .... • ♦ • 6.5 Rest or sleep • . . • 7.7 Imitation . . . • • • 6.5 Home comfort . . . • 7.5 Courtesy . . . • • • 6.5 Economy . . . . . . e 7.5 Play or sport . • • • 6*5 Curiosity . * . . . • 7.5 Managing others • • • 6 4 Efficiency . • . . * 7.3 Coolness . . . • • • 6.2 Competition . . . • • 7.3 Fear or caution • • • 6.2 Cooperation . . . . • 7.1 Physical activity . • 6.0 Respect for deity . • 7.1 Manipulation • • • 6.0 Sympathy for others • 7.0 Construction . • • • 6.0 Protection of others. 7.0 Style .. .. . • • • 5*8 Domesticity . . . . ♦ 7.0 Humor . . . . . • • • 5.8 Social distinction. # 6.9 Amusement . . . 5*8 Devotion to others. • 6,8 Shyness .... • • • t*2 Hospitality . . . . 6,6 Teasing .... ^Sources Floyd L. Ruch# Psychology and Life (second edition: Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Co., 191+1), p. 91* 53 Edward L. Thorndike, of Columbia University, in 1937 secured data on the amount of money spent by people of the United States for such items as clothing, laundry, food, shelter, and so forth, and arranged these items according to their underlying needs in order to show the distribution of the dollar spent for satisfaction of each need. Table II Is a summary of his study. TABLE II DISTRIBUTION OP DOLLAR SPENT FOR SATISFACTION OF NEEDS IN THE U. S. A.** Percentage of Needs____________ Total Expenditures 1. Hunger . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2 2. Security................. • 10.5 3* Protection against the elements . . . . . . . . . 10.2 k* Approval of others ......... 5. Taste and smell . . . . . . . 4*6 6. Protection against animals, disease, etc. . . . . . . . 4 4 7. Social entertainment .... 4.2 8. Approval of self ...... 4.0 9* Sight and sound •••...• 3.9 10. Sex entertainment ........... 3.9 11. Minimizing pain 3.5 12. Mastery over others • • • • • 3.0 13. Other needs 22.2 ^Source: Douglas H. Fryer, Edwin R. Henry, and Charles P. Sparks. General Psychology (fourth edition; New Yorks Barnes & Not)le, Inc., 195m-)* P* 186. 5 4 Lists such as the two above show how limited manfs natural or biological needs in comparison to his artifi cial or social ones are. To be sure, if there is but one characteristic whieh distinguished the civilized from the i less civilized man, it is the number of social needs reaching a far higher mark in the former. Social life creates needs and imposes them upon us in,spite of our selves. The force of circumstance influences our minds no matter what corner of the society we may happen to live. Biologists tell us that any organism is a bundle of needs. When the attempt to satisfy its needs is opposed by the external world the organism is caught between.two forces--within and without— neither of which can be destroyed without destroying its peaceful state of existence. In the case of human beings, in particular, this opposition creates inner frustrations which leave irremovable scars. -How such irremovable scars affect human behavior is the subject of our inquiry in the coming pages. CHAPTER V RESOLVING INNER FRUSTRATIONS In the last chapter we examined the significance of learning in formation of human personality and noticed how, according to modern schools of psychology, human personality presents the development of conditioned reactions. Conditioning, we observed, is in effect learn ing emotional reactions. As we advance in age, our emotional tendencies become attached to persons, objects and ideas and form our attitudes, preferences, prejudices, and complexes. Finally, we noticed that human behavior is regu lated not only by learned emotional reactions but also by basic physiological needs. We spoke of primary and secondary needs and the decisive impact of social settings on creation or intensification of both. In this chapter we shall examine the process through which the drive for satisfaction of needs causes ceaseless and serious conflicts between the individual*s inner and outer world. I. NON-MECHANISTIC ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR This inner conflict is very often ignored by ____________________ those psychological schools which conceive of the human mind as merely a mechanical instrument. For instance, for the typical Watsonian psychologist what really con trols human behavior is purely a stimulus-response phenomenon and the consciousness itself is the product of this process which has developed through learning. Accord ingly, consumer behavior is regulated by the process of association and dissociation without such a thing as unconscious intelligent.activity lying behind it. Here is where Freud differs from those who emphasize the mechanistic phase of human motives. It is true, Implies Freud, that consumerfs likes and dislikes have much to do with the relation between the product and what is associated in his mind about the product, yet what lies under his feelings about the product is not only controlled by those associated memories or by what, on the basis of those associations, seems desirable or undesir able, but also by some unconscious non-mechanistlc activities of which the consumer may be totally unaware.* In the coming chapter we shall investigate into *Cf. Sigmund Freud, "The Unconscious," trans. Cecil M. Baines, Great Books of the Western World, ed. Robert M. Hutchins. ' (6hicagor'lSncyelope&ia Britannica, Inc., 1952), I*IV, Z 4 . 28r - I 4.75 and John Watson, "Talking and Thinking." Behaviorism (Chicagos The University of Chicago Press, 1959)* PP* 22i |.-ij.l. L_ 57 that part of Freud's conceptions which explain the nature and function of such unconscious mon-mechanlstlc activi ties of the human mind* II. FORMATION OF HABIT PATTERNS THROUGH FRUSTRATION Psychologists define frustration as °a situation in which a person*s ongoing motivational behavior, or his organised plan of action, is temporarily or perma nently prevented from reaching consummation.”2 Frustra tion usually arises from delay, thwarting, and conflict. Belay Is the chief source of frustration in early infancy. When needs are not promptly satisfied the infant expresses its frustration through contraction of bodily muscles, agonizing movements, and crying. Although most prevailing in early years, frustrat ing factors of delay never leave the individual* They form a habit pattern whieh persist through life. Frustration caused by thwarting begin to appear when coordination of senses with environment has reached a somehow mature stage. As infants grow stronger and better coordinated, their more active relations with the surroundings introduce them more and more to thwarting. The O Norman Cameron, The Psychology of Behavior Disorders (New Yorks Houghton Mifflin Co., 19^-7), PP« I3O-3I 58 child *8 perceptual development keeps ahead of his strength and coordination* He can see and hear what he cannot reach or have* His small stature, his relative incompetence, the intervention of obstacles, and the interferences and restraint imposed by other persons become increasingly important sources of f rus tr at ion • 3 The third important cause of frustration, and for all practical purposes the most important cause, is conflict* Conflict arises out of failure to adjust to factors affecting one’s life.^ But why one fails to adjust to the factors affect ing one’s life? Ill* THE THREE REALMS OP THE CONSUMER MIND The search for a scientific answer to the above question brings us back to the door of Freud* To simplify his explanations on mechanism of the human mind, Freud divides human personality into three regions— the id (or unconscious), the ego (or conscious), and the superego (or conscience)*^ 3Ibid*, p. 133* ^Lester D, Crow and Alice Crow, An Outline of General Psychology (Paterson, New Jersey: Littlefield, Aciaras & Co*, 1959) * P* 181* ^"Superego, ego and id, then, are the three realms, regions or provinces into which we divide the mental apparatus of the individual”— Sigmund Freud, ”New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis*” trans* W. J* H* Sprott, o p * cit.. p* 836. 59 The id, says Freud, is the obscure inaccessible part of our personality* Whatever we know about it (which amounts to very little) is obtained through the study of our dreams that-present the contents of that realm and through the study of neurotic symptoms* One can come nearer to the Id by images and call it ”a chaos, a cauldron of seething excitement*”^ It is the seat of instincts and is filled with the energies of those instincts, but has no organization and no unified will* It is governed by the pleasure-principle alone and thus has only an impulsion to obtain satisfaction for the instinctive needs* It has no connection with reason and cannot distinguish the harmful from the beneficial* Con tradictory impulses exist In it side by side without neutralizing each other or drawing apart* There thus exists no idea of time and space in the id* "It knows no values, no good and evil, no mortality*”7 It Is altogether unaware of whatever exists in it or out of it* IV. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE CONSUMER *S EGO As to characterization of the ego, Freud defines 6Ibld** p. 837. 7Ibid. - 6o it ass That part of the Id which has been modified by its proximity to the external world and the influence that the latter has had on it, and which serves the purpose of receiving stimuli and protecting the organism from them, like the cortical layer with which a particle of living substance surround itself* This relation to the external world is decisive for the ego. The ego has taken over the task of representing the external world for the id, and so of saving it; for instincts in complete disregard of the superior strength of outside forces, could not otherwise eseape annihilation* “ To preserve the id against the dangers of its surroundings the ego has to take notice of the external world and preserve a true picture of it in the memory* Through reality-tests it eliminates any picture distorted by imaginary forms projected by the id. It attempts to build up experience by constantly testing its contents with the external world and to accumulate energy by draw ing the id's Interest toward itself* It thus grows into the faculty of reason on the one hand and the will on the other* It becomes an agent for the id and yet more than an agent, a master and yet less than a master* It commands but can at any time be disobeyed without being able to resiga when dissatisfied* It functions as an agent to manage the affairs of the id in relation to the external world but it can at any time exceed its authority 8Ibld* 6l and prescribe for, and even command, the id as to what it may or may not have.9 Three forces from three quarters limit the ego's powers. The id with its unlimited instinctive whims demands satisfaction for every aroused desire. The exter nal world draws its lines and gives its warnings as how far or fast the ego may carry the id's whims. The super ego attempts to impose its moral rules upon the ego and threatens it for any deviation from moral standards. V. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE CONSUMER'S SUPEREGO The superego, Freud explains, is merely a term for that segment of the ego which sets itself apart to watch over itself and judge its own performance— just as the ego is in turn a part of the id which has modified its function, through contact with the external world, from that of being a bundle of Instinctive impulses to that of a directing agency between the rest of the id and the world of reality surrounding it. How the superego comes into existence by ^Cf. C. G. Jung, ”The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious,” trans. R. F. G. Hull, The Basic Writings of C. G. Jung, ed. Violet Staub de Laszlo (New Yorks The Modern Library, 1959)* pp. 105-182. 62 separating itself from the ego is a process resulting from the individual's social contact and acquiring values suggested to him, explicitly or implicitly, by those around.him. From very early in life the ego gradually discovers that some of the people around him are superior in wisdom. This superiority taken for granted the ego accepts, often quite uncritically, whatever presented to it as fact.1® In this way it forms a consciousness of respecting and preserving those values for the years to come. Later on in life the superego assumes the function of cheeking and supervising the ego not only to preserve the values which were obtained during the early years but to hold the ego responsible for misfortunes drawn upon the Individual from the internal shortcomings or even external factors. This critical attitude against self, as we have all experienced in one time or another, is one of the most common occurrences in everyday life.11 There is hardly anything, says Freud, that we separate off from our ego so regularly as our con science and so easily set over against it. I feel a tempation to do something which promises to bring me pleasure, but I refrain from doing it on the ground ^Cf. Frances L. Ilg and Louise Bates Ames, "How Behavior Grows." Child Behavior (New York: Bell Publishing Co., Inc., 1955)* PP* 13-19* 11Cf..Ernest Jones, "The Genesis of the Super-ego," Papers on Psychoanalysis (Boston: Beacon Press, I90I), pp. ilfjv^l. 63 that 22 conscience will not allow it* Or I allow myself to be persuaded by the greatness of the expectation of pleasure into doing something against which the voice of my conscienee has protested* and after I have done it my conscience punishes me with painful reproaches* and makes me feel remorse for it.12 . One may object that the superego is thus nothing but the ego itself (even In its habitual state) and doubt if it is necessary to consider it as a separate agency with a separate name. To this objection Freud replies: It is prudent to keep that function [of the ego] a separate entity and assume that conscience is one of its activities* and that the self-observation which is necessary as a preliminary to the judicial aspect of conscience is another. And since the process of recognizing a thing as a separate entity Involves giving it a name of its own, I will hence forward call this function in the ego the superego.13 In fact* we may consider the superego as an agency in the mind which enjoys a certain independence* pursues its own ends* and obtains its energy from the id without the ego's help.^ To illustrate the independ ence and authority of the superego over the ego, Freud mentions the condition of melancholia— a mental disease in which the individual's ego becomes extremely weak and is 12 Freud, "Mew Introductory Lectures on Psycho analysis," trans. W. J..H. Sprott, og. cit.. p. 831. ^Cf. Gilbert Byle, "The Systematic Elusiveness of 'I,'" The Concept of Mind (Mew York: Barnes & Noble, Inc.* i960), pp. 186-f8. periodically attacked and reproached by the superego* In the period of health the melancholic can, like any other person, be more or less severe towards himself. But when the melancholic attack damns upon him his superego beeomes over-severe; abuses, humiliates, and ill-treats his unfortunate ego, threatens it with the harshest punish ments, reproaches it for long-forgotten actions which were at the time regarded quite lightly, and behaves as though it had spent the whole Interval in amassing complaints and was only waiting for am opportunity to bring them forth and convict the ego with a particular severity. This attack of the superego over the ego may continue for weeks and even months. But then it finally comes to an end and the ego finds a chance to relax. The whole incident is soon forgotten by it and in fact makes the ego all the worse in ignoring the code of the superego and indulging in extremes. For the next few months or weeks the ego enjoys absolute power and retaliates, so to speak, the treatment he was given when the superego had the throne. Indeed in many forms of the malady . . . the ego finds itself In an ecstatic state of exaltation, it triumphs, as though the superego had lost all its power or had become merged with the ego, this liber ated, maniac ego gives itself up in a really uninhib- ited fashion, to the satisfaction of all its desires.1^ ^Freud, "New Introductory Lectures on Psycho analysis," trans. W. J. H. Sprott, o£. cit.. p. 832. 65 VI* THE UNCONSCIOUS CONFLICTS BEHIND CONSUMER *S CHOICE Such a severe melancholic state is very rare* of course* But in its milder phases it ecus be noticed in everyday activities of all individuals in every society*^ From an economic point of view the superego*s activities appear in constant evaluation of our behavior as consum ers. Every time we desire to buy a certain product we feel some agency within ms is supervising our decisions* Take the case of purchasing a ear* for instance. It is natural for every consumer to desire to possess the finest car in the market* And the finest car is usually the most expensive one* Now* the id, which is the seat of our whims* takes no heed of the price* The basis of its judgment is merely maximization of pleasure* What this pleasure leads to* the id has no power of detecting. It is the function of the ego to find the wisest course* And the wisest course is that which would maximize the individual*s utility* However* this wisest course may neither satisfy the id nor the superego* The superego is the moral agency in the mind* striving to enforce moral ^Cf* Karl A* Menninger, nMoody Personalities," The Human Mind (New York: Alfred A* Knopf, 1961), pp7 OTFIaST- standards which it has coma to aceept as good and ideal, If our consumer’s id strives to own, for instance, a Cadillac, the superego may oppose this move and urge that the rules of morality commands to buy a less expensive ear and take pleasure in saving some money for charitable purposes. The id ridicules this proposal and proclaims that it cannot feel any pleasure in sacrificing its own enjoyment under the pretense of this nonsense called morality. The ego, on the other hand, steps in to Inform both the id and the superego that no matter what the whims of the id or the moral standards of the superego, the fact is that buying a cheap ear is buying headache and that to buy a dependable ear moral considerations is the last thing to argue about. Here we have a consumer in whom three conflicting forces are at war. What is interesting, the Freudian psychologist emphasizes, Is that the individual himself may be totally unaware of this conflict which is going on within him. The conflict, in other words, is going on In the subconscious and can be detected only when it is very *?Cf, A, A, Brill, "The Super-ego or Conscience: Its Development, Its Absence in Criminals as Illustrated by Some Murderers,” Psychoanalytic Psychiatry (New York: Vantage Books, 195&)» pp* bt-117* 67 severe*1® How, suppose that our consumer finally buys the Cadillac* What has then happened to the argument which was subconsciously going on between the id, the ego, and the superego? The ego and the id evidently got together and defeated the superego. What would be the latterfs reaction? Temporarily, there may be no reaction at all* But the record of animosity is there and the superego is to revolt sooner or later*1^ "But this is a rare phenomenon," some economists may object* "Furthermore, the average consumer never finds any conflict within himself on matters concerning consumption* He is a rational human being with a certain income and certain needs and desires* He simply seeks to maximize his utility and what may appear conflict is nothing but an attempt to achieve this purpose* To reason with oneself in order to find the best course is different than to have conflict with oneself*" But what is this beat that the consumer seeks to 1®Cf• J* P* Chaplin, "The Unconscious in Everyday Life," The Unconscious (New Yorks Ballantlne Books, i960), pp* 167-76. ^Cf. A. R. Lurla, "Structure of the Conflicting Processes and the Problem of the Neurodynamic Type," The Nature of Human Conflictss Emotion* Conf 11 ct and Will (New YorksGrove "Press, Inc*, 1966), pp• 2B9-3OO* 68 find? Can it be anything but the maximum pleasure? And what is pleasure? This question brings us back to the aim of instincts* In Chapter II we examined what Freud had to say on this subject* We shall discuss it in greater detail in the coming pages* VII. THE THEORY OF UTILITY FROM A FREUDIAN VIEWPOINT The concept of utility in economics seems to have undergone little change ever since the theory of the margin was.set forth by the Austrian school in the nine teenth century# As against all cost-of-produotion theories of value* the Austrian school held that value essentially springs from utility, that utility reflects the mind of a person who finds something useful, that this value is determined at the margin and that value only sanctions 20 costs and is not caused by costs. That value refleets the mind of a person who finds something useful is in full accord with Freudian line of thought. What Freud would add here, however, is that P(\ Alexander Gray, The Development of Economic Doctrine (London: Longmans, Green and CoT/TT^i)» p. 330* 69 utility does not merely present pleasure, but also, in certain instances, pain* In other words, in contrast to the old view, that the only motive force behind consumer behavior is search for pleasure, there is, Freud implies, some degree of masochistic tendencies in the human mind which in an unconscious way influences his economic behavior* Such masochistic tendencies are caused by polarity among instincts, i*e*, for every Instinctive impulse in man there exists an equal and opposite impulse* As such, for the impulse of self-preservation there exists in every man an impulse of self-destruction (the former Impulse being, for the most part, a conscious, the latter an unconscious tendency)* Considered from this viewpoint, the concept of utility in a Benthamic sense is merely half way near the truth. (The theory of utility, being in turn based on Benthamism, suffers from the same shortcoming*) For the Benthamite the motive force behind all human activity is attainment of pleasure as well as avoidance of pain* Whereas recent psychiatric research has established it beyond any doubt that chronic self-destruction— experienc ing pain and incurring punishment on the self— is a normal occurrence in human life* History of mankind is packed with the detailed account of innumerous people who, in the name of martyrdom, ascetism, heroism, patriotism, and tens 70 of other pretenses, have Incurred self-destruction of one degree or another upon themselves* At this very age of ours, with all the wonderful achievements of science for improvement of human life, one has only to look around to find how every individual does things which are in one way or another harmful to his health, his happiness, his family and so forth* Yet few have come to recognize the truth of Freud’s psychological finding that man not only strives to preserve himself but also, in an unconscious way, tends, in one thousand and one different ways, to harm himself* As such, Benthamism, as it has been known to economists in general and the Austrian school in particu lar, is, when studied under the light of recent psycholog ical findings, little more than a wishful philosophical speculation* Therefore, the theory of utility, as it stands today, demands refinement* It is important for our fellow economists to recognize that utility, as the source of value, reflects the mind of a person who finds something not only pleasureable, but also, at times, in an indirect way* painful. Or, to put it in less objection able terms, pleasure. as the source of utility, may also, at times, embrace a consequential pain* (In the following pages an attempt Is made to substantiate this point*) 71 VIII. DEVELOPMENT OP CONSUMER'S REACTION PATTERNS Personality, according to Freud, is an intricate system of energy. The way the instinctive energies are drawn from the id by the ego and superego to provide for satisfaction of instinctive Impulses constitute the quality of each individual's particular personality. As we enter the world we learn more and more ways of using our psychic energy in satisfaction of our needs and thus accumulate more and more reaction patterns. Personality is the totality of these reaction patterns or conditioned reflexes. The ways in which these conditioned reflexes are learned are (1} maturation, (2) painful excitations caused by external privations and deprivations, (3) pain ful excitations resulted from internal conflicts, ( I j . ) anxiety, and (£) personal inadequacies. Maturation is the most common way of learning conditioned reflexes necessary for continuance of life. It is a course designed by nature to adapt the organism to the environment. Frustration is a state in which instinctive energy is prevented by some external factor from being dis charged. A consumer is frustrated when he is deprived of the means to satisfy his needs— his attempt to satisfy 72 ?T hia needs is met with the opposition of environment* Sometimes instead of being a result of opposing factors in the environment* frustration is caused bj privation— lack of the means in the environment* Privation as well as deprivation are thus the basis of consumer's external frustration and compel him to learn to find other alterna tives for satisfaction of needs* Conflict is a frustrative state the e&use of which lies within the consumer (in contrast to the external frustration which is caused by factors outside him).22 When one part of the ego opposes the other part which is attempting to obtain satisfaction for the id the consumer is said to be in a state of conflict*23 pn Cf. John Dollard and others, "Frustration in Adulthood," Frustration and Aggression (Hew Havens Yale University Press, 1961)* pp. 72-76. 22Cf. Edwin 1. Guthrie, "Associative Inhibition," The Psychology of Human Conflicts The Clash of Motives within the Individual (Bostons Bacon Press, 19&2), pp* 14.7-63. 2^As such, internal conflict is the state of indecision and in economic affairs is always present, in one degree or another, at the so-called margin* Hearing the margin, to maximize his utility the consumer has to determine just where lies that most economical point where he should stop purchasing of one commodity and shift to another* But, resenting internal conflict, very often long before nearing the margin the consumer obviously gives up the attempt to maximize his utility* Determina tion of the extent of utility being such a bothersome problem in everyday life, one Is to doubt if, in contrast to the theory of the margin, value can entirely depend on 73 Sometimes the source of frustration is neither privation and deprivation in the outside world nor conflict within the ego but in the consumer’s lack of ability and skill to resolve his problems* He is said to have personal inadequacies. Or, the cause of frustration may be in the consumer’s fear of some imaginary or real threat* He is then said to have anxiety,frustration* Personality is the totality of reaction patterns learned through any or all of the five processes mentioned above* Consumer’s personality is thus determined by every experience of his past and is, at the same time, his tool for ad justing himself with the present and future condi tions and for coping with problems that the environment is placing and will place before him*^ In understanding consumer behavior we must take in view the way the individual’s personality develops under different conditions* In some societies the condi tion for painful excitations, for Instance, Is such that the members of society constantly experience external frustrations and thus tend to develop a type of personal ity distinctly different from that which is developed under abundant means for satisfaction of wants* Sometimes utility— unless the word utility could mean far more than "usefulness*” ^Freud, "The Origin and Development of 7k we wonder why people from different areas have different tastes about certain groups of produets. The environment In which the individual has spent his early years and the conditions under which his personality has been developed must always be taken into account by the economist con cerned with consumer behavior. In every comer of every . society we meet the differences in attitudes and prefer ences* In every new generation a drastic change of taste often occurs* All this goes back to the conditions under which-individual personalities are formed and the ways In which reaction patterns are learned* And since-these conditions differ not only from generation to generation but also from society to soclety, no single rule can be devised to Interpret and predict consumer reaction in all ages and all places— as the pre-Freudian economists thought they could* IX. VARIOUS WAYS OF RESOLVING INNER FRUSTRATIONS CREATE DIFFERENT REACTION PATTERNS IN DIFFERENT CONSUMERS There are, according to Freud, altogether five methods by which each individual resolves his frustrations* Psychoanalysis,” trans. Harry W. Chase, Third Lecture, op* cit., pp. 9-li}. * 1$ These are identification, displacement, sublimation, defense mechanisms, and fusion of instincts* Identification Identification is incorporation of the qualities of other persons or external objects into one*s person- ality. The basic cause of identification lies in what Freud calls narcissism. Narcissism or self-love is the main quality of life instincts in man— the instincts which create the tendency in him to like, along with liking himself, anything or anyone who resembles that self. The tendency for gregariousness takes its root from this narcissistic impulse. We like to be among those who are more like ourselves. We feel at home with those who are ”in the same boat. ” When narcissistic tendencies are very strong In an individual he goes to extremes in choosing a great portion of his objeet-cholces in life in things and persons who resemble him in physical structure as well as other areas.^ For instance, narcissistic tendencies may make a masculine man more interested in marrying a masculine woman than a woman with predominant feminine qualities* As a consumer he may be very much concerned about the ^Freud, ”0n Narcissism,” trans. Cecil M. Baines, op. clt., pp. 399-lj.ll. brand of products h© uses and avoid any aspect which ”is only good for soft people.** (The term narcissism is taken from the myth of Narcissus. Narcissus is said to have fallen deeply In love with his own image which he saw reflected in a pool.) Identification in economic and social activities. Narcissistic identification plays an important role in social life and is in effect the very basis of group coherence. In economic as well as political and cultural spheres we have a strong urge to do whatever is done by those who in one way or another resemble us. Clubs of all sorts, political.parties and pressure groups are activated by the motive foree of narcissistic identifica tion. People who. think and feel the same way are automatically drawn together. As consumers, they have a strong tendency to buy those brands which consciously or unconsciously remind them of the interesting qualities of themselves • In recent years, producers have become keenly aware of the influence of narcissistic identification on Cf. Frank S. Caprio, ”The Man*s Path to Mascu linity and Sexual Maturity,” Sex and Love (New Yorks Hillman Books, i960), pp. 109-131* 77 27 consumer behavior* In the last few decades a new move ment has been launched in .many industries to specialize in diversification of particular.features in one product so as to fulfill, with the same product, different phases of narcissistic identification in different consumers* A second type of identification stems from anxiety* Usually referred to as goal-oriented identification, this type of identification is used by the individual when his frustration grows out of his becoming aware of his short comings in attainment of his goals*^® A girl whose attempt to be lovable has failed tries to identify herself with those who are lovable* She imitates their behavior, their way of life, and even their ways of consumption, in hope of getting where they have gotten, believing that such factors are responsible for their success* Her identification is "goal-oriented"— she identifies herself with successful persons in order to become successful herself*^9 27Cf. Vance Packard, "Self-Images for Everybody," The Hidden Persuaders (New Yorks Pocket Books. Inc*. TS&oTTpp: 33=577— *®Freud, "New Introductory Lectures on Psycho analysis," trans* W. J* H. Sprott, op. clt*, pp, 8ij.O-53 • ^ C f • David Joseph Schwartz, "Go First Glass," The Magic of Thinking Big (Englewood Cliffs, New Jerseys Spentice-HaTl, inc., 19&0)» PP* 105-119* 78 Goal-oriented identification is one of the most, if not the most, important motive forces in economic affairs. The never-ending zest "to keep up with the Joneses," is a powerful source of psychical energy which drives the consumer to keep the economy moving. If there Is any truth in the core of Individual Psychology (the school founded by the great Austrian psychoanalyst and associate of f^eud, Alfred Adler) that the motive force in human nature is neither sex (as Freud had thought) nor security (as C. G. Jung— the founder of the Psychoana lytic school-had found) but drive for superiority, then goal-oriented identification has a decisively important role in consinner behavior. In fact we are all "Status Seekers," as one author has justly pointed out.3® And one fast and easy way to attain this goal, at least partially, is through what Thoresteln Veblen has called "conspicuous consumption,"^ Wastefulness has become an integral part of our civilization and does not in any way seem to have neared, as yet, its limit. Perhaps it has no limit at all— as ample historical and psychological evidences indicate.• If so, the classical theory that production Is 3°Vance Packard, The Status Seekers (New Yorks Pocket Books* Inc., 1961). ^Thorestein Veblen, The Theory-of Leisure Class (New Yorks The New American Library, 195>HT. 79 limited by the extent of capital and capital by the extent of profit and profit by the extent of the market is merely a gross economic miscalculation. Profit can never, insofar as conspicuous consumption is to remain the major vehicle of goal-oriented identification, remain anywhere near zero for any considerable length of time. The infinity of human wants, which stems from the insatia bility of zest for superiority, guarantees the never- ending rise of new ideas and new marketable products. New marketable products being forthcoming, profit can only fluctuate without ever remaining, for any considerable length of time, stationary. Goal-oriented identification is perhaps the most widespread type of identification among the masses. A great majority of people in all walks of life face failure in one goal or another or find themselves unable to pursue their desired goals* Their frustration then causes them to find satisfaction in identifying themselves with those who have succeeded or have been able to pursue the same goals as theirs. A great number of novels are read every year by those who can find in them some hero or heroine resembling themselves. Movie stars rise to great popularity because people find in their acts an identifi cation which gives them a spiritual lift and it relieves their frustration* In the world of sport s. many 80 Individuals find heroes whom they can admire and identify themselves with. Perhaps they themselves cannot play baseball and have not even touched the ball in their lives* yet there is plenty in the game and in the people in the game that is in one way or another the story of their own lives* In goal-priented identification the individual relieves his frustration not only by imitating others so that he may succeed but by imagining himself the success ful person and attributing his desired qualities to his own potentialities* In taking a great interest in wateh- ing a baseball player* for.instance* he is in effect seeing himself* through the player* fighting toward a goal and overcoming the barriers* It is the potentiality which he feels he also has or has had that so greatly pleases him. His ego is built up* so to speak* by being reminded that he also could if he wanted* or that his failures in the past do not necessarily prove that he really could not sueceed had he tried harder or wanted to reaeh his goals stronger. A third type of identification occurs when the individual loses something dear to him. He may relieve 3^Cf. Sigmund Freud, "Identification,” Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, trana. James Strachey (Hew York: Bantam Books, 19o0) * pp* J 4 . 6-53• 81 his frustration by trying to become like the lost object through object-loss identification. A person who loses his parents may find relief by identifying himself with the lost ones in a variety of ways. To imitate their good qualities, to restore their memories, to live up to their wishes may satisfy his ego and lighten the burden of the frustration eaused by the loss. This kind of identification may have a significant impaet on his behavior as a consumer and bring substantial changes in the way he usually spends his income.33 Finally, an Individual may identify himself with another person because of fear of wrong doing and there fore of punishment. The child identifies himself with the father and imitates his ways and manners because he has learned that to live up to the father fs standards is the surest way of avoiding father’s punishment. In other words, the father becomes incorporated in him— an incorporation which becomes the foundation of his conscience. Later on in life the conscience plays a paternal role in the individual and becomes the arbitrator of right and wrong. The pecularities of each individual’s conscience have a direct influence on his behavior as a 33cf, Edward A* Strecker, Kenneth E. Appel, and John W. Appel, ”Sublimation.” Discovering Ourselves (Hew Yorks The Macmillan Co. , i960), pp. 25>0-ol. 82 consumer and unconsciously determine many of his atti tudes and preferences toward different products,^ Displacement We said that there are five methods by which the ego attempts to resolve its conflicts, frustrations, and anxieties, The first method is identification— of which we mentioned four types. The second method is displace ment. Displacement is defined as re-channeling of psychic energy from one object to another. In the fore going chapters we noticed how the individual's instinctive impulses press for satisfaction while the ego, facing the barriers of the external world, has to find the safest course for satisfaction of the individual's needs. In the face of such barriers the ego may have to find a displacement of goals for the instinctive impulses of the id. If one particular object-choice is inaccessible, the ego tries to find something else which would provide the satisfaction. The new object may not provide the same degree of satisfaction yet it is better than nothing, so to speak, and helps to reduce the tension, ^Preud, ’ ’The Anatomy of the Mental Personality,1 * trans, W* J, H, Sprott, Great Books • • • , LIV, 830-ifO. 83 Displacement is the greatest function of the ego« In fact a Successful life is a successful series of dis placements* A mentally healthy person is the one whose ego has gained the maturity and power to achieve continu ous successful displacements* After all, almost no one in this world is fortunate enough to have everything go his way* For elimination of tension the ego cannot always i find a direct means and has to find alternative routes* In displacement the ego re-channels the energy of the instinctive impulses from areas where gratification is inaccessible to areas where some degree of satisfaction is attainable* In such cases the tension is not fully eased* But there is just enough satisfaction to enable the ego to function properly*35 Along with the process of displacement the ego may engage in the fusion of instincts* Several Instinctive Impulses may become fused and find satisfaction through a single channel* Displacement in economic and social activities* But fusion of instincts is primarily a characteristic of adult life* As the individual grows he faces many ^^Robert A* Harper, "Freudian Psychoanalysis* Early Developments." Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1961), pp* 11-25* % prohibitions* Social life deprives him of many channels - through which he could ease his tensions* As his freedom, and specially his economic, social, and psychological freedom, becomes more limited he has to make a greater use of every open channel* As a baby he could suck at his finger if he were deprived of his mother’s breast* He could take any object around him and bite and find grati fication through that act* Now, as an adult, he has to choose certain channels for oral gratification. He may chew gums, hold a cigar in his mouth, or drink* But in every ease he la sensitive to society’s estimation of the channel he ehooses* As his freedom becomes more limited he learns to fuse his Instinctive impulses* He learns, In other words, to draw satisfaction for many of his impulses from one object-choice* An activity like hunting or boating may reduce a number of unrelated tensions at the same time* The instinctive impulses are thus said to be fused and their energy condensed**^ The degree of resemblance between different object-choices determine the extent of displacement* The less the resemblance of the alternatives with the original object-ehoice the less the satisfaction drawn by ^Cf • Paul S* Achilles (ed.), "Psychology in Relation to Social and Political Problems," Psychology at Work (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc*, 1912), pp7“l99-252. displacement and the more the immobility of the displace ment* On the other hand* the greater the rigidity of social institutions the less the number of substitutive objeet-cholces and less the frequency of displacement* Finally, the less the frequency of displacement the more widespread and deeper the frustration* This explains why in some societies the rigidity of laws and social customs and economic deprivations sometimes lead to profound upheavals* As frustration accumulates over frustration, as one group or class in rising to power tightens the rope around another group or class by depriving it of proper channels for displacement, and as instinctive impulses build up tension after tension ^7 the roots of revolution find deeper holds. Violence and frustration often go hand in hand* The more congested the instinctive energy in the individ ual the greater the tension and stronger the tendency for sudden total discharge of the energy behind the tension* This is one reason why people who have been calm and quiet for years are sometimes overwhelmed by violent behavior* To prevent such congestion of tension the ego 07 Cf* Grove Haines and Warren Walsh, "The Romanov Road to Ruin,” The Development of Western Glvillzatlon (Hew Yorks Henry Holt and Co•, T%.7), pp• 7^-814* 8 6 finds it inevitable to displace the inaccessible original object-choice with any available substitute.3® Defense Mechanisms of the Ego Of the five ways in which the individual resolves his frustrations, identification and displacement were discussed. The third of the five is defense mechanism of the ego. There are, according to Freud, at least five types of defense mechanisms used by the ego in reducing its anxieties. These are repression, projection, reaction formation, fixation, and regression. Repression. In repression the ego represses the painful memory, idea or perception out of the reach of awareness— so as to prevent the renewal of painful feel ings associated with such memories and perceptions. Freud speaks of two kinds of repressions— primal repression and repression proper. In primal repression the mechanism of repression is built in the Id during the racial history of mankind and has become an inherent quality of the mind.39 3®John Dollard and others, "Displacement of Aggression." Frustration and Aggression (New Haven: Yale University Press, 19&l) , pp* . I 4I4 .. , 39sigmund Freud, "The Infantile Recurrence of Totemism," The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud, ed. by 87 In repression proper, in fighting the revival of the past anxieties the ego erects a psychic.wall against the memory of certain painful incidents of the individ ual *s life (or any perception associated with those incidents) and prevents them of becoming conscious* (The word repression, by the way, is generally used for repres sion proper in Freud’s writings as well as other*psycho analytic literature# We follow the same procedure and from here on whenever the word repression is used in this thesis we shall be referring to repression proper#) Repression and the elements.of irrationality in human behavior# By repressing the memory of painful incidents out of awareness, the ego succeeds (or seeks to succeed) to perform its duties with less disturbance# To illustrate the mechanism and function of repression Freud suggests the following example# Suppose, he says, in a lecture hall the audience ♦ is attentively listening to the lecturer and the lecturer is trying to do his best to give a fine lecture# But there is someone among the audience trying to interrupt his speech, to ridicule him, to invoke resentment in others against him, and do whatever he can to make the A* A# Brill (New York: The Modern Library, 1938)» pp* 88l*-930. 88 worst of the meeting. The lecturer goes on doing his job, however, hoping that the man will stop interfering. Yet the interruption becomes more unbearable and the lecturer finds it necessary to expel the man from the hall. The man resists and the audience finds it necessary to force him out. He is thrown out, yet the peace cannot be restored. The man now begins pounding at the door and seeking entrance This is, Freud concludes, what happens in the ease of repression. The ego is the lecturer who is trying to do his best creating coordination, peace, and satisfaction within the individual. There are, however, wild and immoral impulses in the id demanding satisfaction from the ego. There is also the superego which wants the ego to resist the immoral demands of the id. Then there are the dangers of the external world against which the ego must guard the individual. Facing these pressures from three directions— the id, the superego, and the external world— to be able to function with less anxiety, the ego, Instead of finding a logical way to eliminate the cause of anxiety, sets a wall between the cause of anxiety and its own awareness of it. The anxiety is thus pushed back into ^Freud, ”The Origin and Development of Psycho analysis, " trans, Harry W. Chase, Great Books , • • , LIV, pp, 1-20. 89 the subconscious areas of the ego and seemingly for- kl gotten. By repressing the oause of anxiety (memories and desires associated with danger and fear) into subconscious areas of the ego, the ego can help Itself very little. Just as the man who was expelled from the lecture hall is with greater Irritation attempting to force his way in, so the repressed.wishes (and ideas associated with them) are in constant struggle to find their way into the consciousness.and conquer the opportunity to express them selves. As such there is a continuous war going on within the individual and a continuous consumption of the ego »s energy to prevent the re-entry of the repressed wishes into consciousness. The ego has to fight not only against those repressed wishes but against any idea whose entry into consciousness will revive the repressed wishes.^2 Repression leaves.a deep scar on the personality and causes great changes in the normal course of behavior. The scar never vanishes unless the war between the ego ^Patrick Mullahy, “The Theory of Repression," Oedipus Myth and Complex (Hew Yorks Grove Press, Inc., xwrpp. ^2Cf. Joseph Huttin, “Realization of the Ideal Self and ’ Repression,Psychoanalyais and Personality, trans. George Lamb (Hew York: New American tiferary, I962), pp. 186-98. - . 90 and the repressed wishes ceases; and the war doe3 not cease unless, first, the source of anxiety (the dangers and fears which have caused the ego to use repression as a defense procedure) is eliminated and, second, unless the ego becomes aware of this elimination* In many individuals the ego continues fighting the anxieties whose causes had been vanished years ago* The anxiety persists because the reminiscences of such causes are still just as fresh in the subconscious realm of the ego as the time they actually existed* Unless the ego discovers that the danger does no more exist and that the cause of its anxiety is now nothing more than the memory of the van ished reality, the internal war and the consumption of energy to keep that war going continues* Repression and consumer behavior* This consump tion of energy to keep anxiety out of the reach of aware ness affects every aspect of the individual’s behavior and reflects most clearly in inability to make decisions with out too much hesitation and procrastination* The person who often has a hard time to make up his mind is suffering from inner conflict* This is very common among consumers and one major role of advertising is to reduce the indecision and alleviate the confusion the root of which lies in the process of repression* It is often said that in many instances the consumer does not know exactly what 91 he wants and that is why he cannot make up his mind properly. But the fact is that conflicting wishes within him are each fighting for different things, without his being quite aware of the fight himself which is going on in his subconscious. Repression is the wall which prevents him from being aware of these conflicting wishes within himself. What advertising does is to unify those wishes which can be unified and to disintegrate those which are opposing this group and thus to enable the consumer in forming a.clear picture of what he should have.^3 Projection. The second type of defense mechanism of the ego Is projection. In projection, to reduce its anxiety the ego finds relief by attributing the cause of the anxiety to the eternal world.^ By so doing, it makes the individual feel that he himself has had nothing to do with the cause of his misfortunes and that he should not be held responsible for any part of the miseries which lie behind the present anxiety. By blaming others for his misfortunes or his wrong deeds, the ego escapes the ^Cf. Mark Wiseman, "What Can Your Campaign Hope to Accomplish," The New Anatomy of Advertising (New Yorks Harper and Bros . , i95>9), pp. it-3-^X. ^Cf. Robert R. Sears, "Experimental Studies of Projection," The Journal of Social Psychology, VII (1936), 151-63._____________________________________ 92 painful reproaches of the superego is the greatest source of the anxieties of the ego* The superego is constantly watching everything that is going on within the ego and protests, often with utmost harshness, wherever its principles is overlooked by the ego* This watching over the ego and protesting may occur on the conscious level— in which case the individual is quite aware of what goes on between the ego and the superego* But many prosecu tions of the superego of the ego occurs in the subconscious level and the individual is either totally unaware or very dimly aware of them* (That is one reason why we often feel sad or worried without knowing why*) Pro .lection and consumer behavior* To escape such conscious or unconscious painful attacks of the superego the ego finds it an effective defense tactic to convince the superego that its disobedience of the letter’s moral code has been imposed upon it by the external world* A person who, for instance, spends a substantial portion of his income on drinks and ignores his family’s welfare may scape the superego’s reproaches by holding his wife responsible for his troubles* The wife who spends a great deal of money and time on cosmetics and hairdo, while neglecting her children, may put the blame on her husband for paying attention to other women and causing her to be concerned about her beauty.^* 93 Projection and conservation of psychic energy* In projection the individual is often attributing to others or to the external world what he is unconsciously fearing. A person who is afraid of the aggressiveness of his own superego may project this fear upon the people around himself and believe that they are aggressive toward him. A person who is dishonest toward others may escape the punishment of his superego by projecting the fear of having been dishonest upon other people and convince him self that they are dishonest. An individual who has failed to live up to his religion and is fearing the reproach of his superego may find relief in rebuking others for overlooking the code of that religion. The remarkable fact about projection is that the Individual is unaware of its use, by the ego, for escape from anxiety. He does not know, at least in a great majority of cases, that his ego is trying to escape its fear of the superego by shifting the attention of the latter to the external world. By transferring the attention of the superego from ^Cf. Simone de Beauvoir, "Breams, Fears, Idols," The Second Sex, trans. H. M. Parshley (New York: Bantam looks, T96iT7“PP. 129-85. 9k internal shortcomings to the external injustices the ego is not only able to escape the reproaches of the latter but is also in a better position to fight the source of anxiety* So long as the source of anxiety is within and as long as the ego has to fight the superego, anxiety persists and even increases* The superego always has the upper hand in dealing with the ego* The ego has to cope with many problems and its energy, being distributed among a multitude of functions, can be easily exhausted* The superego has only one function, one business to take care of— watching over the ego and finding its faults. To find fault is easy enough* It consumes no great energy and it takes no great skill* The ego has to deal with the harshness of the external world on the one hand, with the savage instinctive impulses of the id, and the expectation of the superego on the other* It may for a short while succeed to drive the superego away and gain absolute power to deal with its problems but problems never cease to rise and never fail to be great every now and then* As soon as the ego is under great pressure and as soon as little force is remained to resist, the vengeful superego rises to power* Such being the case, projection serves the ego not only in being relieved from the superegoTs attacks but k * ■ by uniting the superego with itself in fighting its way 95 in the external world. The mechanism of projection, therefore, serves the ego to conserve energy in two ways. First, by not having to fight the superego, and second, by utilizing the latter*s energy in dealing with pressures of its surroundings Reaction formation. The third defense mechanism of the ego is reaction formation. When the ego is pressed by anxiety it may reduce the anxiety through pretention. If a girl, for instance, is fearing that her sexual impulses may make; her involved in a shameful conduct, her ego may reduce this anxiety by pretending that she has no such impulse and no great sexual desire to cause any such disastrous conduct. As a result she may assume an antagonistic attitude toward sex which is in reality but a pretension against her violent inner desires. She is of course unaware of the fact that her antagonistic attitude is merely a trick of the ego. In fact all the defense mechanisms of the ego work on the same basis. They are effective only as long as the conscious level of the ego is unaware of its unconscious activity to reduce anxiety by utilizing any of the five defense mechanisms. The right hand, so to speak, must not know ^ G f * William MeDougall, "The Instinct of Pug nacity,” An Introduction to Social Psychology (New York: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 19bO"T7 pp. 2lf0->q!. 96 what the left hand Is doing—* or else, the mechanism cannot alleviate the anxiety* Another instance of reaction formation is when the individual»s anxiety is caused not by fear of her own violent impulses but fear of some source outside of her self* For example, when the individual fears someone who is stronger than himself the ego may relieve the anxiety by assuming a friendly attitude toward the other person* Under this cloak of pretension his ego finds security* However, should he gain the upper hand and be sure of his position his hidden anxiety may burst out in violence against the very same person he now pretends to like* A great number of people are law-abiding citizens because of their hidden fear of the punishment of disobedience* Many people show great concern over the welfare of the organization in which they are employed but in reality their concern is little more than a reaction formation behavior caused by their hidden fear of losing the job security they now enjoy*^ Reaction formation and consumer behavior* Reaction formation appears in consumer behavior often in the form of the fear of insecurity. Many well-to-do people avoid ^7Cf. William H. Whyte, Jr., "The Executive Ego," The Organization Man (Hew Yorks Doubleday Anchor Books, 19^6), pp. l6b-72. 97 luxuries, for instance, and are very careful in every instance not to pay for the luxurious features of the product— features not important to the basic function for which the product is made* In the case of ears, for i example, in contrast to many people in the low-Income bracket who buy luxurious cars, many individuals with average or better than average income are well satisfied with inexpensive ears* "What a person actually wants from a car,” they argue, "is transportation* There is no sense in paying twice as much for the same ear just for some idiotic luxurious features*” Many such people follow the same attitude in all other daily affairs and consider themselves wiser than others for whom luxury is a main element of a good life* Actually none of the two groups is any wiser than the other. Each sees the world from a different viewpoint* But the reason for the difference in their viewpoint lies in the nature of their inner anxieties and in the defense mechanism through which the ego is trying to reduce.their anxiety.In the case of the first group who are interested in luxurious features, the ego is using regression— a defense mechanism of which we shall speak in the following pages* In the case of ^■®Ernest R* Hilgard, ”Fear and Anxiety as Drives," Introduction.to Psychology (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Go., 19&>* PP* 130-32. the second group, for whom luxury Is synonymous with extravagance, the ego is using reaction formation. Their case is very similar to the girl who Is unconsciously afraid of her own hidden sexual desires* Just as the girl * s unconscious fear causes her ego to reduce sexual anxiety through reaction formation, the consumer*s uncon scious fear of financial insecurity compels his ego to use the same defense mechanism for reducing financial anxiety* Fixation* The fourth type of defense mechanism of the ego is fixation* In fixation, because of the fear of new experiences involved, the individual ceases to progress from one stage of maturity to another* There are usually four stages of psychological maturity in everyone’s life— infancy, childhood, adoles cence, and adulthood* As one advances from one stage into another he leaves his old psychological patterns behind to learn new ones* But learning new experiences can always involve new fears and therefore new anxieties* Sometimes the new experiences are quite sudden and painful* Sudden and painful incidents in one’s life undermine the ego’s courage to face new experiences and always leave deep impressions on the personality* The memory of such painful experiences is usually carried into later life* The basis of fixation is precisely the severity and 99 suddenness of experiences involved in movement from one stage of personality development into another. The individual is "scared off," so to speak.^-9 The more pain ful and frightening any new experience the more inclined the individual becomes to remain mentally fixated and avoid advancing into what he considers dangerous stages. In such eases maturity, which is the direct result of learning new experiences, is fixated. The ego refuses, subconsciously, to leave the world of childhood. Every one is to some extent fixated in one way or another, * depending on his environment and the severity and sudden ness of his new experiences* Fixation and consumer behavior. Fixation appears in consumer behavior in the form of resistance against new products. When the automobile was first Introduced a great number of consumers in high income bracket hardly had any desire to own one. The resistance was largely based on the unconscious fear of experiencing what was somehow or another associated in their mind with danger. This unconscious fear can be most clearly detected in those areas of the world where people are suspicious of modern facilities introduced by advanced nations. In a little i|Q Cf . Bonaro W. Overstreet, "Common Crises of the Growing Years." Understanding Fear in Ourselves and Others. (Hew Yorks Collier Books, 19©2)» pp. 100 town in the Middle East a number of people were asked what made them, avoid using electricity in their homes while quite a few families had been using it in another part of the same town. They were found to have a fear of elec tricity partly due to their experiences in childhood with lightning. Electricity was associated in their minds with a sudden danger. There was a fixation in their unconscious toward any new experience which resembled something they had once been frightened by.^ Regression. The fifth type of defense mechanism used by the ego to lessen anxiety is regression. In regression the ego escapes into a dream world resembling the previous stages of its existence where fear and there fore anxiety did not exist. When the world of reality is painful there is still a world of remembrance in whieh the individual can feel seeure by associating its thoughts to the time when security reigned. This flight into a dream world may take place in several ways. One may regress by residing on pleasant memories of the past or. actually doing something resembling those memories. Many adults regress by doing things resembling what they used to do in childhood when life was secure and pleasant for S°Cf. Muzafer Sherif, ”The Formation of a Norm in a Group Situation," The Psychology Of Social Norms (New Yorks Harper & Bros., i93&)» pp. &9-T07. 101 them* Regression and consumer behavior. In the economic sphere, actually all of us are Inclined to reduee our anxieties by surrounding ourselves with the things which remind us of the secure and wonderful world of our child hood* The advertising industry is quite conscious of this tendency in consumers. Through research on consumer reactions, producers have learned, especially in the last few years, how to emphasize those features of the product which can take our.imagination back to "the good old years*" As a child we were always fascinated by colorful objeets and our imagination saw as much expression of life in a lifeless beautiful doll as it could find in a living being* There could exist little difference for us between the real and the unreal, the living and the life less* We were living in the world of our own imaginations. The manufacturer, as well as the advertising man, today recreate for us the same world* They make,us forget what we don*t want to notice and find what we enjoy to imagine* A great portion of what we pay for every product is paid for what pleases our imagination without giving us any actual service. In our childhood we were ready to do anything to have a beautiful doll. But we could never stop to ask ourselves what in the world could that doll do for us* Like a child, today we are very much inclined to 102 regress to the same state of mind and be willing to pay for those features in a product which only pleases our imagination without having anything to do with the actual servlee expected from the product*^- X. SUMMARY OP THE CHAPTER In this chapter Freud's concepts on the id, the ego, and the superego were discussed and the relations of these three systems to one another, to human personality, and to consumer behavior were analyzed* Through an analysis of the three ways— -identification, displacement, and defense mechanisms— -of resolving inner conflicts, it was shown how, in a Freudian sense, different ways of resolving frustrations create different reaction patterns in different consumers* Finally, the five types of defense mechanisms used by the ego were discussed and the relation of each type to consumer behavior was analyzed* It was concluded that the defense mechanisms of the ego are irrational ways of eliminating anxiety and that by such mechanisms the ego distorts, denies, and hides the reality from the consumer without being able to eliminate the cause of the anxiety* ^Cf. Sylvanus M* Duvall, "Five Alibis People Use to Deceive Themselves," The Art and Skill of Setting Along with People (Englewood Cliffs, Hew Jersey: Prentlce-Hall, Inc•, 19ol), pp. l80-8i|.* 103 Why these mechanisms exist even in normal people, what necessitates their existence, what happens when none of the five defense mechanisms of the ego succeed to eliminate or lessen the anxiety are the subject of our inquiry in the next and the final chapter* CHAPTER VI THE BASIS OP IRRATIONALITY IN HOMAN BEHAVIOR In the previous chapter we examined Freud * s views on the development of human personality* We discussed the five defense mechanisms of the ego and concluded that every normal person uses one or more of these five irrational ways of dealing with anxiety in one time or another* In this chapter we shall examine the extent of that irrationality and its long-run impact, from Freudfs viewpoint, on economic and social behavior of the individual* I* PSYCHIC ENERGY CONSUMED IN THE DEFENSE PROCESS Although defense mechanisms of the ego are often used even by the normal and healthy individuals, there are those whose ego make a habit, so to speak, of irra tional ways of dealing with the problems it faces* The defense mechanisms generally consume a great portion of the ego*s energy* The individual whose ego uses repression, for instance, will have to Invest a substantial amount of 105 psyehie energy to fight the repressed wishes* As we noticed before, the repressed wishes and any idea asso ciated with them have a strong tendency to destroy the barrier installed by the ego and to express themselves in a disguised form* By repressing a wish and/or an idea which is the source of anxiety, the ego achieves nothing but to push that idea or wish into the subconscious and holding it there* This holding of the repressed wish in the subconscious requires a constant consumption of energy* In individuals with a great number of repressed wishes a substantial portion of the ego’s energy has to be invested for repression* The individual becomes an extreme introvert* The introvert is self-occupied and finds little time or energy to participate in social activities*^ In contrast to the introvert, those with few repressed wishes have a great amount of energy to invest on such activities* They are far more flexible— can easily adapt themselves to different situations— and are able to cope with their problems with greater ease and efficiency* The individual with an Introverted ego, therefore, not only is in a constant war with his inhibi tions and spends a great portion of his psychic energy in ^Cf. Charles B* Poster, "Types of People,” Psvcholoutv for hlfe Adjustment (Chicago: American Techni- cki'SoSiety7T:9^T7 ppT 157=55. 106 that war, but# because a great portion of his energy is invested there# he is also unable to cope efficiently with new problems that arise* He is in a vicious circle from which he cannot free himself because too much of his energy is tied up in defense meehanism and he has to use defense meehanism because he has little energy left for 2 coping with new situations* II* FREUD AND THE BEHAVIOR1ST PSYCHOLOGISTS But why# in Freud *s view, does the ego have to use defense mechanism even before the individual is surrounded by such a vicious circle? What causes the formation of this circle? Why can some get out of it easily whereas others sink deeper down into it the more they try to get out of it? In Chapter III we noticed how significant a role learning plays in the formation of personality. We noticed that one definition of personality# commonly accepted by all behaviori3t psychologists# is that person ality presents the development of conditioned reactions* These psychologists tell us that every responding organ of the body can be conditioned; that to control environmental ^Cf. Carl G. Jung# "Psychological Types," trans. H. G. Baynes# The Basic Writings of jC. G. Jung, ed* Violet Staub de Laszio (Ifew York:~¥he Modern Library# 19S9K PP* 183-285*________________________ _________ 107 conditions under which an individual develops from birth onward is to determine the kind of person he eventually becomes.3 Freud goes further than that. He does not deny that environmental conditions determine personality* but he wants to know just how this determination takes place. He is interested not only in how every responding organ of the body can be conditioned (as the behaviorist psychol ogist is mainly concerned with) but how each conditioning in turn reconditions a chain of previous conditioned reactions. The human mind* argues Freud* Is not merely a simple reaction machine in whieh every action* every strike, every impact from the external world is a key which turns on a definite reaction pattern. Personality is far more than a simple set of conditioned reactions Behavior is determined by more than just a number of biological needs. There are deep seated instinctive impulses which pervade personality and control behavior yet have very little direct connection with biological . ^Cf. x. P. Pavlov, HThe Experimental Results with Animals in Their Application to Man,” Conditioned Reflexes, trans. 0. V. Anrep (New York: Dover Publica tions, inc., i960), pp; 395-lj.ll. ^Cf. Benjamin Nelson (ed.)* Sigmund Freud: On Creativity and the Hnconsclous— Papers on the PsychoXogy of ArtT literature .Tove. kelTgion (New~?ork: fearper & BtqsTT 1958), pp.X-3T0T 108 needs. It is true that in the final analysis psychic energy is produced by transformation of bodily energy and bodily energy is produced through biological processes, yet expenditure of the psychic energy involves a chain of activities the direction of which is not easily traeeable to biological processes* III. HARMONY BETWEEN THE THREE SYSTEMS OP PERSONALITY To trace this chain of activities to their origi nal source and to find the principles whieh govern that chain. Freud divides human personality into three major systems or realms— the id. the ego. and the superego* In the previous chapters we discussed some of Freudvs ideas on the relationship between these three realms* The balanced mind, from a Freudian point of view, is the one in which these three systems function harmoni ously.^ Of the three systems, the id is the seat of instincts and the reservoir of psychic energy* The other two realms evolve from the id* When we consider the moment of birth onward, the personality at first consists of merely the id* The id functions as the agent of instincts and thus strives to provide for the immediate ^Cf. Edward Glover. "Mental Structure,"Freud or Jung? (New York: Meridian Books, 195&), PP* 21-^i. 109 discharge of quantities of energy pressing for discharge in the form of excitation or tension. In other words, the sole function of the id is to fulfill the initial principle of life which Freud calls the pleasure princl- 6 . . . . . . pie. The ego attempts to reduce the tension which la aroused in the id. The^tension, Freud admits, has a biological basis. As long as there is life there are biological needs and as long as there are needs there is tension. Satisfaction of a need gives pleasure because it reduces tension. Tension reduction is thus another name for the pleasure principle. But in satisfaction of Instinctive Impulses the id has to cope with the blind and often opposing forces of the external world. This condition gives birth to a new system in the id called the ego. The ego is the product of learning and matures as the individual grows in age. However, as new experi ences are built into the ego the old ones are apparently forgotten. These forgotten Impressions are the elements which form what Freud calls the sub cons c ious. _ At every age, therefore, the greater portion of the ego is hidden from the individual*s awareness. An analogy may be drawn between an iceberg and the ego. Just as a great portion Sigmund Freud* Beyond the Pleasure Principle (New Yorkt Bantam Books, 193*9) * PP. il-llo. 110 of the Iceberg is tinder the water, so the greater part of the ego lies in the subconscious. What every individual Is at any time conscious of is that part which can be easily remembered. So at any time the individual is only however, is controlled not only by that fraction but the totality of the ego* The totality of his ego is con trolled, in turn, not only by the external world but also the id and the superego. The id is the sea that embraces the ego. The ego is the iceberg that is evolved out of the id, has become a distinct entity, a separate system; yet exists in the id, and is in every moment controlled by 7 its movements.' The ego is the id’s agent. It represents, or can represent, whatever is in the id. But in contrast to the id which has no unified will and whose contents exist in a state of chaos, the ego is ruled by reason, has a will of its own, and aets according to the logic of its past experiences. As such, human behavior is the ego *s behavior. The other two systems of personality (the D id and the superego) act through the ego. The ego’s ^Cf. Hendrik M. Ruitenbeek (ed«), Psychoanalys is and Existential Philosophy (New Yorks E. P. Button an# CoT,‘Tnc" ."“T ^ 2), pp . xxvi-262. conscious of but a fraction of his own ego. His life, Cf. Theodor Eeik, ’ ’Who Am I?,” Listening with the Third Ear (New Yorks Farrar, Straus and Co.', ), pFTT7F&5. Ill behavior, therefore, is influenced by, first, the demands of instinctive impulses of the id; second, by demands of the superego, and third, by the ego’s own past experien ces* In a balanced mind there is harmony between the demands of the id, those of the superego, and the wisdom of the ego* But such harmony is both rare and unstable* Its unstabllity is caused, on the one hand, by the variety of instinctive impulses of the id and, on the other, by the limitations whieh the external world imposes upon the individual* As the German philosopher, Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, has pointed out, an animal is restricted to "particularity*" It has its instincts and means of satisfying them; means which are limited and whieh it cannot overstep* In the ease of human beings, however, intelligence, with its grasp of distinction, multiplies the need "and since taste and Utility become criteria of judgment, even the needs themselves are affected thereby* Finally, it is.no longer need but opinion which has to be satisfied*"^ What the consumer considers as a need to be satisfied is often little more than an "opinion" to be ^George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, "The Philosophy of Right," trans* J* Slbree, Great Books of the Western World, ed* Robert M* Hutchins (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc*, 1952), I»IV, 13&* 112 turned Into a form which may cease to displease the mind* The desire for food, Adam Smith points out, Is limited In every man by the narrow capacity of the human stomach, Hbut the desire of the conveniences and ornaments of building, dress, equipage, and household furniture, seems to have no limit or certain boundary." What is over and above satisfying the limited biological needs "is given for the amusement of those desires which cannot be 10 satisfied, but seem to be altogether endless." "No bound for riches has been fixed for man, Aristotle remarks in his Politics* Speaking of "the good life," he points out: The expression "superfluity" applies whenever a man possesses the necessities of life and sets to work to secure as well other noble acquisitions* • • • Superfluities are better than necessities, and are sometimes more desirable as well: for the life is a superfluity, whereas mere life itself is a necessity.1* Adam Smith, "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Great Books of the Western World, ed* Robert M. Hut chins (Chicago: Encyclo pedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), XXXIX, 71. 11 Aristotle, "Politics," trans* Benjamin Jowett, Great Books of the Western World. ed* Robert M, Hutchins TShlcago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc*, 1952), IX, ij.50. ^Aristotle, "Topics," trans. W* A. Pickard Cambridge, ibid.. VI'II, l6i|.* 113 But superfluities, according to Adam Smith, can, and often do, turn into necessities and thus place the consumer into a position which he may no longer be able to live without them**3 By necessaries, Smith says in The Wealth of Nations I understand not only the commodities wkicii are indispensably necessary for the support of life, but whatever the custom of the country renders it indecent for creditable people, even of the lowest order, to be without* A linen shirt, for example, is, strletly speaking, not a necessary of life* The Greeks and Romans lived, I suppose, very comfortably though they had no linen* But in the present times, through the greater part of Europe, a creditable day-labourer would be ashamed to appear in public without a linen shirt, the want of whieh would be supposed to denote that disgraceful degree of poverty which, it is presumed, nobpdy can well fall into without extreme bad conduct *-‘ •4 Speaking of the primary and secondary needs of labor, Karl Marx also points out that consumer's wants vary aeeording to the climate and other physical condi tions of his country and that basically the major portion of human wants have no direct relation with his biological needs, and are "the product of historical development* Many people, Plato had observed centuries before Marx, will not be satisfied with a simpler life* "They will be l3Cf. supra. Chapter IV, p. 38* ^Smith, o£* cit** p* 389* l£ ^Karl Marx,"Capital,” trans* Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, Great Books of the Western World, ed. Robert M* Hutchins {Chicagos Ehcyclopedla Britannloa, Inc•, 1952), L, 81* Ilk for adding sofas, and tables, and other furniture, also dainties, and perfumes, and incense and courtesans, and cakes, all these not of one sort only, but in every variety.*16 Such being the nature of "many people," it is fair to conclude that as a country becomes economically 17 more developed the needs of its consumers also increase. ' s But as the needs increase so do the fear of financial insecurity and the anxiety caused by that fear.1® The / greater the anxiety the stronger must be the ego in order to function properly. As we noticed in the foregoing pages, it is the ego's responsibility to create harmony between not only the instinctive impulses of the id and the demands of the superego, but also between the whole system of personality and the external world. Little wonder that under conflicting forces from these three directions the ego sometimes falls to function properly. Anxiety is the inevitable accompaniment of its task and if it is not Plata, "The Republic," trans. Benjamin Jewett, Great Books of the Western World, ed. Robert M. Hutchins (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), VII, 318. ^Gf. supra, Chapter IV, page 38. 18 Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, trans. Joan Riviere (Hew York: Double day & Co., foe., 1958)* PP. 1-105. 115 strong enough to withstand that constant flow of anxiety, if problems are numerous and grave, and if no immediate solution is at hand the ego has to use its defense mechanisms in order to reduce the tension caused by anxiety.1^ What can defense mechanisms of the ego do for the individual? As we noticed in the last chapter, when the ego cannot reduce its anxiety by solving its problems, it has to utilize such measures as: (1) repression (denying the dangers— which accompany its problems— by repressing the signs of danger away from awareness and down into the subconscious), (2) projection (externalizing the anxiety by spotting its cause in the objects and people of the world), (3) fixation (remaining in the same stage of maturity In fear of new experiences Involving anxiety), (Ij.) reaction formation (eliminating the anxiety by pre tending as if the danger did not exist), or ($) regression (retreating into a dream world of the past when there was no danger and when the ego enjoyed a secure and happy time. Escape from Reality and the Unconscious Conflicts In all the five defense mechanisms distortion of ■^Cf. The Delphian Society, "Neurosis and Normal ity," Patterns for Modem Living ’Chicago: The Delphian Society, 1952), pp* 799*SM>* 116 reality is the aim of the ego* Sometimes distortion is successful whereby the ego finds time to rebuild its strength and be prepared to solve its problems rationally* Actually the defense mechanisms are for this very same purpose of relieving the ego, temporarily, from its worries and giving it a chance to cope with it3 problems 20 in a rational way* In many individuals, however, the defense mechanisms are used by the ego to escape the 21 burden of responsibility* But anxiety persists unless its cause is removed* In repression, whieh is the most Important and most widely used of all five defense mechanisms, the ego has to spend a great portion of its energy on keeping the cause of anxiety away from awareness by repressing it back Into the subconscious areas of the mind. By thus repressing the cause of anxiety, a continuous war will go on within the individual* The repressed thoughts or wishes will keep on fighting their way back into the consciousness for obtaining expression. The ego, on the other hand, has to keep on using energy in repressing 20 Of* Brian Inglls, Stress and Disease,H Emo tional Stress and Your Health (Hew York: Collier Books• TSS277 pp7 U s l = W . -------------- ^Cf• Louis P. Thorpe, "When Are We Emotionally MaturePersonality and Life (Hew York: Lonamans. Green and Co*, 19S317 pp. l^FFo:— 117 them. The individual is then suffering from what Freud calls neurosis* Like repression, all other defense mechanisms lead, in one way or another, to the same state* The severity of this war within determines, as Freud would say, the extent of irrationality of consumer 22 behavior* In a mentally healthy person this war is not serious because all three systems of personality (the id, the ego, and the superego) are working more or less harmoniously and the ego can use its full energy in coping with problems which it faces in the external world* It does not need to worry about internal conflicts. It does not need to use defense mechanisms to distort reality* In such mentally healthy persons instinctive demands of the id do not conflict with expectations of the superego* There is harmony between the needs of each realm* But such a harmony, Freud had found, is a rare phenomenon. There is conflict within a great percentage of the individuals in every society in every age. There is lack of harmony of interest between the id and the superego in a vast number of people. As long as there is disharmony there is a war going on within the individual* 22 Cf. Ernest Havemann, ,fThe ABC of Psychoanalysis.” The Age of Psychology (Hew York5 Simon and Schuster, 1957)* PP* 62-79* 1X8 And as long as there is internal war there is room for irrational behavior* A prominent economist has justly pointed out that ”consumers are frequently very ignorant buyers,” and more, they are not only uninformed about countless items which they buy, not only unable to hire specialized purchasing agents and hence often have to buy on the basis of guess, but "they usually buy on the basis of * * • emotion* ”^3 The great difference, on the issue of consumer behavior, between the Classical and the Neo-Classical economists on the one hand and what we may call a Freudian economist on the other lies in the latter's emphasis on the decisive role of emotions in consumer behavior* The Classical, and to a lesser degree, the Neo-Classical economists looked at the consumer as a rational being whose behavior in the market was generally controlled by conscious intelligent effort* Emotion played a very minor role, if any, and thus could be altogether ignored* Advertising, as such, functioned not quite as a persuasive agent, but mainly as an informative one* For the Freudian economist, on the other hand, the consumer, although a •'Clifford L. James, An Outline of the Principles of Economics (New Yorks Barnes & Noble, Inc*, 19^6), p* 88. 119 rational being, cannot always act on the basis of calcula tion. He is an intelligent being, but his powerful emotional forces do not always allow him to behave intel ligently. His conception of reality can be, and often is, easily distorted, not only by forces in the external world but also by certain mechanisms in his own mind. Without himself being aware, innumerable conflicting impulses within him are in constant war. Although on the surface he may seem calm and content, at his best and his most normal state he is in a perpetual state of tension, disturbance, and dissatisfaction, (The basis of this perpetual tension— polarity among instincts— was discussed in Chapter II and will be more fully analyzed in the following pages.) Advertising, as sueh, not only func tions as an Informative agent, but, to a far greater extent, as a persuasive one which helps to resolve the consumer*s inner conflicts by strengthening one group of impulses against the other. (See Repression and Consumer Behavior in Chapter V, pages 90-93.•) IV. POLARITY AMONG INSTINCTS AND ELEMENTS OP IRRATIONALITY IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR From a Freudian point of view, rational behavior is that which is directed toward obtaining maximum satis faction for the demands of the life instincts with minimum 120 chance of endangering the safety of the Individual* According to Freud, as ve noticed in the foregoing chapters, there is polarity among instincts. All the instinctive impulses in the id arise either from Eros (life or sexual instincts) or Thanatos (death instincts). The first group strives for promotion of life. They are the primary impulses of creativeness and constructiveness opposed by the second group, death instincts or primary impulses of destructiveness. Both the destructive and constructive tendencies, says Freud, are originally self-directed but beeome increasingly extraverted as the individual advances from birth into childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Depend ing on the circumstances under which personality develops, one of these two groups of instlnets dominates the personality. Again, depending on the circumstance, the dominant group becomes either mainly extraverted or mainly introverted. If the destructive impulses are the dominant elements of one's personality one has a strong urge for destruction (irrational behavior). In such ease, if one's destructive tendencies are mainly extraverted, one's destructive urge is projected toward the objects and people of the world. If destructive impulses are mainly introverted one's destructive urge is turned upon oneself (consumer acting, unconsciously, against himself— 121 minimizing his utility)* On the other hand,.if the construetive impulses are the dominant elements of one's personality one has a strong urge for constructiveness (rational behavior)* In such case if one's constructive tendencies are mainly extraverted one's constructive urge is directed toward the welfare of others— otherwise that urge is centered on the self* V. CONCLUSION 2k In the over-all picture and by definition,^" therefore, no human being can in his economic behavior be completely rational* Insofar as there is polarity among instincts there are destructive impulses opposing con structive ones* Insofar as there are, invariably, two opposing forces within every individual there Is a war going on deep down within every human being between these two opposing forces* Insofar as these two opposing forces are in war and insofar as the final victory cannot be reached but by death, life may be said to be a chain of partial defeats and partial victories for the life instincts as well as the death instincts* From a psycho logical point of view, according to Freud, death is the ^HPhe definition on pages 119-120* 122 conclusion of that war and the final victory for the death instincts* Before this final victory is reached these instincts are in a state of constant struggle; pressing for satisfaction through destructive channels; being interfered* restricted* and pushed back by the life instincts* The life instincts* which are the elements of rationality in the individual* endeavor to have full control of his life* to direct his actions in directions which provide maximum welfare with minimum endangering* and to take the highest possible advantage from every opportunity in promotion of life and happiness.2-* The death instincts* on the other hand* are the elements of Irrationality in the individual. They endeavor also to have full control of his life* to direct his actions toward channels which provide maximum destruction either to the individual himself or the world around him* But what is the motive force behind these two opposing activities? Why should the life Instincts strive for creativeness while the death Instincts press for destruction and shortening of life? The concept of polarity, while new for modern psychologists* was well known to the ancient Chinese and 25 Cf • Norman 0. Brown, "Rationality and Irration ality," Life against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History (New York: Vantage Books * 195>9)» PP• 23i|.-34* 123 Indian religious philosophers* They had found that every force in nature is bound to create an equal and opposite force* In later centuries physicists like Newton put the same idea In more precise terms and proved Its validity on physical plane (Newton*s third law of motion that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction or "every force is opposed by an equal opposite force").^ All life is but motion**^ Just as on the physical plane every force is opposed by an equal opposite force, In psychic life, too, every instinctive Impulse (which is set in motion by a chain of actions in physical condition) must of necessity be opposed by an equal and opposite impulse (ereated by a chain of reactions equal and opposite to that ehain which ereated the former impulse)^ Sir Oliver Lodge interpreting Newton*s third law of motion— Energy (New York: John P* Rider Publisher, Inc., 1957)* P* 50• 07 Cf. Sir Isaac Newton, Ma thematical Principles of Natural Philosophy* great Books of the Western World (Chicago: 'Encyclopedia Britanniea, Inc*, , 3b(xlv, 1 ^-24* ^®Cf. Sir Arthur Eddlngton, "Reality," The Nature of the Physical World (Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor Paperbacks, 19^8), pp* 273-92; Ernest J* Oplk, "Life and Consciousness in the Universe," The Oscillating Universe (New York: The New American Library, I900)» pp* l£l|.**28j s'ir James Jeans, "Matter and Radiation," The Mysterious Universe (New York: S. P. Dutton & Co*, Inc*, i95>o), pp* b2-97* ^Cf* Walter S* Buckingham, Jr., "Theory of Countervailing Power," Theoretical Economic Systems ..(New York: The Ronald Press Co., 1958)» pp* 26ij-70 and Will But Freud does not enter Into these details* He does not try to explain his theory of polarity of lnstinets through Newton’s third law* He does not find himself in a position to elaborate on the nature of life or how it is produced through physical conditions* However, to illus trate the two opposing tendencies for life and death in man, he speculates (on the basis of the tendency in living substanees to regress to inorganic state) that: The attributes of life were at some time evoked in inanimate matter by the action of a force of whose nature we can form no conception. It may perhaps have been a process similar in type to that which later caused development of consciousness in a partic ular stratum of living matter. The tension which then arose in what had hitherto been an Inanimate substanee endeavoured to cancel itself out. In this way the first Instinct came into being: the instinct to return to the inanimate state. It was still an easy matter at that time for a living substanee to die} the course of its life was probably only a brief one, whose direction was determined by the chemical structure of the young life. For a long time, per haps, living substanee was thus being constantly created afresh and easily dying, till decisive external influences altered in such a way as to oblige the still surviving substance to diverge ever more widely from its original course of life and to make ever more complicated detours before reaching its aim of death. These circuitous paths to death, faithfully kept to by the conservative instincts, would thus present us today with the picture of the phenomena of life.30 Durant, ”The Reconstruction of Character,” The Pleasures of Philosophy (New York: Simon and Schuster, 195>3)V pp. 171-79• 3°Slgmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle. (New York: Bantam Books, 1959)> PP* 71-72. 125 By this route Freud arrives at his theory of Eros and Thanatos. Through external influences a force is set in motion in the living substance to diverge ever more widely from its original course of life and to make ever more complicated detour (prolonging life) before reaching its aim (death)* At the same time, that very same force creates an equal and opposing force in the living sub stance to shorten the route to death* Although these two groups of Instincts oppose one another, the motive force tinderlying either one, according to Freud, is the pleasure-prlnclple. In every action the individual’s aim is to provide satisfaction for his life and death instincts— Eros and Thanatos.^ This theory stands in firm contradiction with one of the most basic contemporary economic assumptions— namely, that consumer always seeks to maximize his gains from each dollar he spends* In the first view there appears no contradiction between this assumption and Freud’s theory of Eros and Thanatos* The theory merely suggests that there is polarity among instincts, and that human behavior is controlled not only by the Eros but also by the Thanatos. ^Cf. Ludwig Eidelberg, "Come Sweet Death," Take Off Your Mask (New York: Pyramid Books, i960), pp* 125-38* 126 The assumption, on the other hand, implies that in his economic behavior man seeks to maximize his pleasure by taking full advantage of the market situation while avoid ing its disadvantages. But the assumption also implies that in his economic behavior man acts rationally, that this ration ality leads to goal-directed behavior, and that the ultimate goal of all human behavior is avoidance of pain and attraction of pleasure. Even in its most sublime form, human behavior is under the spell of this motive force. To seek pleasure and avoid pain, or to maximize the former and minimize the latter, is the core of all human activities. But psychoanalytic research shows, says Freud, that in general human beings in many instances in their lives welcome pain in one form or another, that even in his economic behavior man cannot (does not want to) always act rationally. Environment, points out Freud, determines what group of instincts must be dominant in each individual and through what channels should that dominant group find satisfaction (pleasure). This determination takes place mainly in the first decade of life. The motive force is at all times and under all cirexamstances the pleasure- prinelple. The aim of all instincts in man is 127 satisfaction and no matter which of the two groups (Eros or Thanatos) become the dominant element of one’s person ality, zest for pleasure remains the motive force back of his activities* But what Freud means by pleasure is far different from what an economist understands from the term* For the economist the term "pain” usually means "the sensation one feels when hurt, mentally or physi cally, especially distress, suffering, great anxiety, anguish, grief— opposed by pleasure,"32 by pleasure he understands "the gratification of the senses of the mind, agreeable sensations or emotions: the excitement, relish, or happiness produced by enjoyment or the expecta tion of good; enjoyment; satisfaction— opposed to pain*"33 But Freud looks at pleasure from two opposite positions* Insofar as psychoanalytic research shows that two opposing groups of instincts exist in man, pleasure and pain must be considered merely in relation to the aim of these two groups of instincts* Hie aim of an instinct, emphasizes Freud, is satisfaction* But what is satisfac tion for the Eros is dissatisfaction for the Thanatos* 3^Webster *s Dictionary (second unabridged edition, Hew York: tibrary Guild, Inc*, 1961), p* 1285* 33Ibid*. p. 1378. 128 What procud©a pleasure for the latter produces pain for the former* As such the conventional view that in his economic activities man always seeks to maximize his utility is groundless* Psychoanalytic research shows that the instinct of self-preservation— of which the tendency for utility maximization is hut one aspeet— is constantly* though unconsciously* challenged by the instinct of self- destruction* Each individual carries* deep down within himself* the seed of self-damage* Depending on the environment in which the individual develops* the seed may grow to such a great extent as to become notleeable* How ever* even in its most dormant state* a certain degree of unconscious self-destruction is always under way* This self-damage is usually dressed in a variety of forms* The individual may unconsciously take pleasure in engaging in activities which would incur loss of one sort or another upon himself. He may, for instance, buy things which he does not need at all or for a price which is quite sense less* Later on he looks baek wondering, "why did I do that? What made me go out of my mind? Why did I not even stop to think about what I was doing?" BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY A, BOOKS Achilles, Paul S. (ed.). Psychology at Work, Hew Yorks McGraw-Hill Book Go,, Inc*, 1932. Brill, A. A. Basic Principles of Psychoanalysis. Hew Yorks Washington Square Press, I960. . Psychoanalytic Psychiatry. Hew Yorks Vantage Books, 1956. (ed.)• The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud, """‘ " ' “'"^ew 1 York s The Modern Library, 193$. Boring, Edwin G., Herbert S. Langfeld, and Harry P. Weld. Introduction to Psychology. Hew Yorks John Willey and Soils, Tno~ lW>. ----- Brown, Horman 0. Life against Deaths The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History. Hew Yorks Vantage Books, 1959* Brown, Warner and C. Gilhousen. College Psychology. Englewood-Cliffs, Hew Jerseys Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1950. Bruner, Jerome S. Freud and the 20th Century. Ed. Benjamin Helson. Hew Yorks Herdlan Books, Inc., 1954* Buckingham, Walter S., Jr. Theoretical Economic Systems. Hew Yorks The Ronald Press Co., 195>8. Cameron, Horman. The Psychology of Behavior Disorders. Hew Yorks Houghton MifflIn co•, 1947• Caprio. Frank S. Sex and Love. Hew Yorks Hillman Books, I960. . Why We Behave as We Do. Hew Yorks Popular Library,’ 1954* Chaplin, J. P. The Unconscious. Hew Yorks Ballantine Books, 1960. 130 131 Crow, Lester B. and Alice Crow, An Outline of General Psychology, Patterson, New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams & Co,, i9,!?9• Cruze, Wendell W, General Psychology for College Students, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc*, 19*?1. Bashlell, John P, Fundamentals of General Psychology, Third edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co,, de Beauvoir, Simone, The Seeond Sex. Trans. H. M. Parshley. New Yorks Bantam Books, 1961, Bollard, John and others. Frustration and Aggression. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1^£I. Burant, Will. The Pleasures of Philosophy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953• Buvall, Sylvanus M. The Art and Skill of Getting Along with People. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentiee- IaIT, Tnc.7 l96l. Eddlngton, Sir Arthur, The Nature of the Physical World. Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor Paperbacks, 1958. Ehrenwald, Jan. From Medicine Man to Freud. New York: Bell Publishing <J© •, Inc., Eldelberg, Ludwig. The Bark Urge. New York: Pyramid Books, 1961. Take Off Your Mask. New York: Pyramid Books, Foster. Charles R* Psychology for Life Adjustment. Chicago: American"’ Te^Tcal ^ c 1 W > ' T ^ > - Freud, Sigmund. Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Trans. James Strachey. New York: Sant am Books, 1959* . Civilization and Its Biscontenta. Trans. Joan Riviere" New York: iJoubleday & Co., Inc., 1958* . Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Trans. James Strachey. Hew Ifork: Bantam Books, I90O. 132 Fryer, Douglas-H., Edwin R. Henry, and Charles P. Sparks* General Psychology, Fourth edition* New Yorks Barnes & Noble, Inc*, 195fy* Gray, Alexander. - The Development of Economic Doctrine. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1931* Glover, Edward. Freud or Jung? New Yorks Meridian Books, Guthrie, Edwin R. The Psychology of Human Conflicts The Clash of Motives within the Individual, Bostons Bacon Press, 1962. Haines, Grove and Warren Walsh. The Development of Western Civilization. New Yorks Henry Holt and Co., 1§1|.7* Hall, Calvin S. A Primer of Freudian Psychology. New Yorks The New”"American Library, 1958* Harp Havemann, Ernest. The Age of Psychology. New Yorks Simon and Schuster, 1957* Herbert, Johann Friedrich. A B C of Sense Perception. Trans. William J. Eckoff. New Yorks £>• Appleton and Co., 1903* . The Application of Psychology to the Science of^Educatlon. Trans. Beatrice C. Mulllner. New Yorks Charles Scribner1 a Sons, 1898* Hilgard, Ernest R. Introduction to Psychology. New Yorks Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1953* Ilg, Frances L. and Louise Bates Ames. Child Behavior. New Yorks Dell Publishing Co., Inc., l'95>*>* - Inglis, Brian. Efraotional Stress and Your Health. New Yorks Collier Books, l9^* James, Clifford L. An Outline of the Principles of Economics* New Yorks Barnes & ifoble, Inc., 19^6. Jastrow, Joseph. Freuds His Dream and Sex Theories. New Yorks Permabooks, 1959• 1956, Englewood currs, New jerseys rrenciee I90I. 133 Jeans. Sir James. The Mysterious Universe. New Yorks B. P. Dutton & <5o7, Tnc'; , T^iT. -- Jones, Ernest. Papers on Psyehoanalysis. Bostons Beacon Press, 1961. Laszlo, Violet Staub de, (trans.). The Basle Writings of £• J^3SS* ^ew Tork: Th® Modern Library, 1959* Dodge, Sir Oliver. Energy. New York: John P. Rider Publisher, Inc•, 19f>7» Luria, A. R. The Nature of Human Conflicts s Emotion. Conflict ancT Will.New York; Grove Peess, Inc., i960. McDougall, William. An Introduction to Social Psychology. New Yorks Methuen & Co., Ltd., I9H0* Menninger, Karl. Man against Himself. New York: Hareourt, Brace and Co., . The Human Mind. New Yorks Alfred A. Knopf, I9SI.----------- — Mullahy, Patrick (ed.)» A Study of Interpersonal Rela tions. New Yorks Grove Press, Inc., 1957* ________ . Oedipus Myth and Complex. New Yorks Grove Press, Ine., 1955* Nelson, Benjamin (ed.). Freud and the 20th Century. New Yorks Herd!an Books, Inc., 195>k« _______. Sigmund Freuds On Creativity and the Uncon scious— Papers on the Psychology of Art, Literature, Love, Religion. New Yorks Harper & £ros., 1956. " Nuttin, Joseph. Psychoanalysis and Personality. Trans. George Lamb. New Yorks New American Library, 19&2. Opik, Ernest J. The Oscillating Universe. New Yorks The New American Library, i960* Overstreet, Bonaro W. Understanding Fear in Ourselves and Others. New Yorks Collier Books, 19&2. Packard, Vance. The Hidden Persuaders. New Yorks Pocket Books, Inc., I960. 13k . The Status Seekers. New York; Pocket Books, Inc., 19^1* Pavlov, I. P. Conditioned Reflexes. Trans. G. V. Anrep. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., I960. Peck, Martin W. The Meaning: of. Psychoanalysis. New York! Permabooks, 1^0. Puner, Helen Walker. Freud: His Life and His Mind. Yorks Dell Publishing 60., Tnc•, Reik, Theodor. Listening with the Third Ear. New York: Farrar, Straus and Co. Rickman, John (ed.). A General Selection from the Works of Sigmund Freud. "~New York: Double day and <3o., Inc., Ruch, Floyd L. Psychology and Life. Second edition. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Co., Ruitenbeek, Hendrik M. (ed.). Psychoanalysis and Exis tential Philosophy. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co•, Ryle, Gilbert. The Concept of Mind. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., i^6o. Salter, Andrew. Conditioned Reflex Therapy. New York: Creative Age Press, Schwartz, David Joseph. The Magic of Thinking Big. Englewood Cliffs, NewJersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., i960. Sherif, Muzafer. The Psychology of Social Norms. New York: Harper & Sros•, 1936. Spencer, Herbert. The Principles of Psychology. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1887. Strecker, Edward A. Basic Psychiatry. New York: Random House, 1952. , Kenneth E. Appel, and John W. Appel. Discover ing"" Ourselves. New York: The Macmillan Co. , 1960. 135 Thorpe, Louis P. Personality and Life, New York: Long mans, Green and Co., 19k5» Veblen, Thorestein. The Theory of Leisure Class, New York: The New American library, 1^5$* ' Watson, John B. Behaviorism, Second edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959* Whyte, William H,, Jr. The Organization Man. New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1956. Wiseman, Mark. The New Anatomy of Advertising. New York: Harper and Bros •, 195>9* Woodworth, Robert S. Psychology. Second edition. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1929. Zilboorg, Gregory. Sigmund Freud: His Exploration of the Mind of Man. New York: Grove Press, Inc., l^So. B. BOOKS: PARTS OF SERIES Aristotle. Polities. 1 Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Vol. IX of Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins. 55 vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. Aristotle. Topics. Trans. W. A. Pickard. Vol. VIII of Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. 'Hutchins. 55 vollsu TFhicago : Encyclopedi a Britanniea, Inc., 1952. Freud, Sigmund. Instincts and Their Vicissitude. Trans. Cecil M. Baines. Vol. LiV 6t Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert ll.” Butohins. 55 vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. . ♦ New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis. Trans. W. J. H. Sprott. Vol. LIV of Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins. 55 vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. . On Narcissism. Trans. Cecil M. Baines. Vol. LIV of Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins. ” 55 vols. Chicago: ^ncyclo- pedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. 136 . The Anatomy of the Mental Personality, Trans, W, J. H. Sprott, VoY. LIV of Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Etut chins, vols, Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952* . The Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis. Iran's. Harry W. Chase. Vol. iilV of Great Books oT~the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins. ^T" vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. _______ _• The Psychic Mechanism of Hysterical Phenomena. 'frans. A. A. Brill. Vol. LiV of Or eat Books of^th!e~~ Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins. vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. . The Unconscious. Trans Cecil M. Baines. Vol. LIV of Oreat Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins. vols” Chicago: Encyclo- pedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. . Thoughts for Times on War and Death. Trans. E. Colburn Mayne. Vol. LIV Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins. 5^ vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. Hegel, George Wilhelm Priedrieh. The Philosophy of Right. Trans. J. Sibree. Vol. LIV of Croat Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. ifutchins. vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Vol. XXXV o? Great looks of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. ButektTns• vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. Marx, Karl. Capital. Trans. Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling. Vol. L of Great Books of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. Hutchins• vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952* Newton, Sir Isaac. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Vol. XXXIV of Great Books o¥~~the WesTern World* Edited by Robert M* Hutchings. 5^4- vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. Plato. The Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Vol. VII GpeatHooka of the Western World. Edited by Robert M. lutchins• vols. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. 137 C. PUBLICATION OP LEARNED SOCIETIES Th© Delphian Society* "Neurosis and Normality,” Patterns for Modern Living* Chicagos The Delphian Society, 1952" D. PERIODICAL Sears, Robert R. "Experimental Studies of Projections.” The Journal of Social Psychology. VII (193«)» 151-03. UNIVERSITY OP SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

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Creator Famoorzadeh, Mansoor (author)

Core Title Freud's interpretation of consumer behavior

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Economics

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Economics, General,Economics, Theory,OAI-PMH Harvest,psychology, behavioral

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Phillips, E. Bryant (committee chair), [Barghoorn, Frederick C.] (committee member), Garis, Roy L. (committee member)

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