The paste was then held out to her between the experimenter's fingers. She caught it at once with both hands and carried it to her mouth. She was checked and her hands were washed. She repeated the reaction on the next trial. On the third trial HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: INSTINCT 249 she manipulated it with her fingers, fixating the process with her eyes very continually. She did not attempt to put it into her mouth. With one piece in her right hand, she reached out for an additional piece with her left hand. There was not the slightest tendency to wipe off her fingers and hands. A cake of wet soap was next offered her. She reached for it with both hands. She rubbed her fingers up and down on it and tried hard to grasp its slippery surface. She reached her head forward and downward and tried to get her mouth to the soap. She tried hard to grasp it first with the right hand, then with both hands, and made peevish, querulous sounds when she failed to get hold of it. There was not the slightest avoiding tendency, or wiping or washing tendency present. A large bunch of cotton wool was held out to her. She reached for it first with the left hand and then with the right, smiling as she stroked it. She reached for it repeatedly. A smooth thick piece of glass, a lens without mounting, was held out to her. Her reactions to it were much like those made to the soap. Positive reaction tendencies were observed to an electric light bulb and to many other small objects. She played with a bunch of violin bow hairs in much the same way that she had played with the cotton wool. In her case at the ages studied, it will be seen that practically no avoid- ing tendencies were instinctive. We can summarize as is gen- erally done and say that once the reaching coordination has been formed, infants respond positively to nearly all small objects which are given a high stimulating value by moving them.
No definite avoiding tendencies have been noted at this age, except those mentioned under bUnking and defense reactions. These tests have been repeated upon two other children of ap- proximately the same age who had never previously been stimu- lated by such objects. The whole series of tests would be pointless if habit formation had been present with respect to these objects.
Portion Tendencies.--.
Althoughwe are not prepared to insist upon it we are inclined to believe that man is originally endowed with various kinds of positive reaction tendencies, but with few negative reaction tendencies. The few negative tendencies are to be seen in the * ' avoid- PSYCHOLOGY ance ' ' of loud-sounding objects, the struggle to escape from those which excite rage and fear generally, and the guarding or fend- ing movements used in connection with any object or person that tends.to injure the subject's own tissue. In addition there are many objects which are not reacted to at all, or reacted to only with the eye, for, example, such as objects too far away to reach, etc. Taken as a whole, however, the child reacts positively to hundreds of objects where it reacts to one in a negative way. Negative reaction tendencies (with exceptions noted) as we see them are the products of training such as we see in conditioned reflexes or training of the most highly integrated and associated types.
We are inclined to think that as the individual grows older persons, places and things tend to become generally associated with organic responses of one kind or another and to some extent specifically with those connected with love (page 201). The individual cannot usually put the connection in words; he cannot state, for example, why he reacts positively to this person or thing but negatively to that person or thing. We might state the general theory of positive and negative reactions very much as we stated it in 1914. Every object either by virtue of the original constitution of the individual or through associative connections of one kind or another (conditioned reflex or habit) calls out, in addition to the ordinary overt or delayed response in the striped musculature, a definite and complex group, of reflex activity in the erogenous zones. When thus stimulated this area may according to the way in which it has been excited arouse two fundamental kinds of impulses, (1) a group connected with tumescence, rhythmical contractions of other muscular tis- sue, and with increases in the quantity of the various secretions. This group, if functioning alone, would lead to the positive seek- ing movements, and ultimately to the unfolding of the instinctive mechanism of the act of reproduction. (2) A group connected with detumescence inhibition and relaxation of other muscular tissue and with inhibition of secretions. These impulses gaining the motor centers would, if no inhibitory factors were present, release the movements of avoidance. In order to make this matter HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: INSTINCT 251 definite, let us turn to animal psychology and take the neuro- physiological situation at the moment of sex excitement.
When a definite sex object (female) appeals to any distance receptor, the eye or the ear of the male (granting a certain physiological condition of the animal, i.e., the proper season of the year, period of sex excitement, etc., in general; since seasonal rhythms are not so marked in the male, the animal must be in a receptive condition for such stimuli), at least two sets of arcs begin to function: (a) one leading from the distance receptor (aroused by the sex object) to the striped muscles, tend- ing to produce a heightened tone in the skeletal muscles; (b) the other, leading likewise from the distance receptor, passes out (via the white rami) to the appropriate sympathetic ganglia. When these neurones are stimulated changes are produced in the circulatory, glandular, secretory and muscular mechanisms, pos- sibly of the character described in (1) above. As soon as these effectors are thrown into activity, they set up a characteristic group of afferent impulses which upon reaching the motor centers complete the initiation of overt -seeking, movements. When the situation is prolonged and contact receptors become stimulated by the result of the seeking movements, the complex sex act follows. On the other hand, if the general physiological condition is different (organism not receptive to sex stimuli), there again arises (a) an increased tonus in. the striped muscles and (&) activity in the sympathetic mechanisms, but in this case there is a checking of secretion, lack of tonicity in the muscles, etc. (2 above), which arouse in turn a definite group of afferent impulses that tends definitely to set free the avoiding reaction. Since the mechanisms involved in sex are fundamental, it seems reasonable to suppose that every object, either instinctively or through habit, tends to throw them into one or the other form of action of which we have just spoken.
Certainly many objects (non-emotion producing stimuli, stimuli distantly or not at all connected with sex stimuli) do not in the beginning arouse these groups, but through the ordinary mechanism of habit and conditioned reflex functions come later to arouse faintly or overtly the one or the other. There is evi- 252 PSYCHOLOGY • dence in sexual pathology to show not only that such habit con- nections are formed, but also that they can become more funda- mental than the primal instinctive pathways, as is shown in the use of phallic symbols, fetishes, etc.
This theory has been objected to on the ground that it seems unduly to emphasize the instinctive factors connected with love. It in a way maintains that action is determined and evaluated by such factors. But our use of the term love here is entirely different from that ordinarily employed. We use the term in the modern way in which it is used in psycho-pathology. Nearly every one will admit that there are such factors at the bottom of home life, in our general social life and even in our vocations. We work long hours, try to improve our position and bring in more money, in order that our home life may be carried out upon a broader scale. The activities centered around loved objects and persons from infancy to old age are easily the most im- portant factors in our life as a whole. It is no wonder that our acts should be connected with and evaluated by such a refer- ence as we have indicated (the connections lying usually below the language level).
The Order of Appearance of Various Instincts. — While the field of animal instincts has been worked over with a good deal of care with respect to the time of appearance, time of disap- pearance, and the cyclical character of inherited activities, no one has as yet made a similarly careful study of the temporal aspects of instincts in man. We have some data upon this subject, as was brought out in our genetic study. The principle can at least be illustrated, e.g., by the grasping reflex which appears at birth, increases in definiteness and disappears, probably gradu- ally, at about 120 days; by blinking, which does not appear until about the 100th day and which endures for life; and by the final group of instincts connected with the sex acts proper (coition), which appears at puberty and continues indefinitely. As a rule, an instinct shows a waxing or developmental stage which may be short or extend over some time. In those instincts which die out after a time there is probably a similar waning period. The sex instinct illustrates (but none too well) the periodical or cyclical character of instincts. It is about the only example HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: INSTINCT 253 of it we find in man if we neglect the periodic functioning of the vegetative instincts. We see the cycles in instinct very clearly in the animal world in those activities connected with nest build- ing, migration, hibernation, etc.
When the instinct-habit consolidations, discussed on page 216, are considered, some interesting pedagogical and moral conclu- sions are often drawn. William James has expressed this idea in his own inimitable way in connection with the discussion of the transitoriness of instincts: Leaving lower animals aside, and turning to human instincts, we see the law of transiency corroborated on the widest scale by the alternation of different interests and passions as human life goes on. With the child, life is all play and fairy-tales and learning the external properties of "things"; with the youth, it is bodily exercise of a more systematic sort, novels of the real world, boon-fellowship and song, nature, travel and adventure, science and philosophy; with the man, ambition and policy, ac- quisitiveness, responsibility to others, and the selfish zest of the battle of life. If a boy grows up alone at the age of games and sports, and learns neither to play ball, nor row, nor sail, nor ride, nor skate, nor fish, nor shoot, probably he will be sedentary to the end of his days* and, though the best of opportunities be afforded him for learning these things later, it is a hundred to one but he will pass them by and shrink back from the effort of taking those necessary first steps the prospect of which, at an earlier age, would have filled him with eager delight. The sexual passion expires after a protracted reign; but it is well known that its peculiar manifestations in a given individual depend almost entirely upon the habits he may form during the early period of its activity. Exposure to bad company then makes him a loose liver all his days; chastity kept at first makes the same easier later on. In all pedagogy the great thing is to strike the iron while hot, and to seize the wave of the pupil's interest in each successive subject before its ebb has come, so that knowledge may be got and a habit of skill acquired — a headway of interest, in short, secured, on which afterward the individual may float. There is a happx moment for fixing skill in drawing, for making boys collectors in natural history, and presently dissectors and botanists; then for initiating them into the harmonies of mechan- ics and the wonders of physical and chemical law.
We are far from agreeing with James that in the above description he is dealing with instinct as such. He is rather 254 PSYCHOLOGY • describing the changing situations that confront the develop- ing youth, the onset and course of habit, the effect of social and economic pressure, etc., than the transitoriness of instinct.
Lack of Pattern Instincts in Man. — No fair-minded scientific observer of instincts in man should claim that the genus homo possesses anything like the picturesque instinctive repertoire of the animal. Yet even James maintains the contrary. If we neglect the vegetative (including the sex act proper here) and the direct life conserving functions, such as attack and defense, there are few complete and perfect instincts in man yet observed. Instinct and the capacity to form habits, while related functions, are present in any animal in inverse ratio. Man excels in his habit- forming capacities. So quickly are habits formed upon the basis of whatever instinctive activity is present, that man is usually accredited with as long a list of instincts as the animals. We turn next to a consideration of this list.
Some Asserted Instincts in Man. — The following is a more or less conventional list of human instincts. The account is taken largely from Thorndike's "Original Nature of Man." While there are certain additions of his own, the list, was originally compiled from Preyer, Schneider and William James. Not all of the instincts listed by Thorndike are given here.
Acquisition and Possession. — To any not too large object and to one which does not arouse fear, the original response is ap- proach, or if the child is within reaching distance, reaching, touch- ing, grasping. Then follows putting the object into the mouth, or manipulation. To the situation of a person or animal grab- bing or making off with an object which one holds or has near him, the response is a tightening of the hold upon the article, pushing, striking and screaming at the intruder.
It will be seen that reaching and grasping are put down as part reactions. Eeaching, grasping and release of object, while they have instinctive elements, nevertheless must be tremen- dously modified by habit before they are of any service. See the work on Lee, page 275, on reaching for the candy and the candle.
Hunting. — To a small escaping object, man, especially if hungry, responds apart from training by pursuit. When near enough he pounces upon it and seizes it. If seized, he inspects, HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: INSTINCT 255 manipulates and dismembers it. If the object is larger, he responds much the same way, only he is more likely to throw himself upon it and bear it to the ground, choke and, maul it until it ceases to move.
No one has ever made any such observation as this. The only hunting we know anything about comes long after differential responses with respect to animals have been developed. Thorn- dike 's description is undoubtedly true with respect to animals, but it is a mere word picture so far as human activity goes. I have seen infants and children and monkeys pull and rotate any moving organ of an animal, poke at the eyes, etc. By the time the infant is strong enough to really dismember an animal, the seizing-pulling-pouncing activities have been overlaid by habit, and oftentimes with distorted habits which go by the name of cruelty (unfortunately the limits of this volume do not allow us to treat of sadistic and masochistic tendencies). All that we can see in the -"hunting" instinct until habit modifies it is a positive reaction towards certain objects dead or alive, and manipulation.
Collecting and Hoarding. — It is assumed that there is a "blind" tendency to take up any positively reacted to object and carry it home. This crystallizes into collecting and storing objects, such as money, marbles, string, tops, postage stamps, pic- ture post-cards, valentines, etc.
If the psvcho-analysists are to be believed, collecting and hoard- ing are indicative of a great many factors which are anything but instinctive. Our own comment is that there is little here which might be called instinctive. Children will grow up in a rather sheltered environment, with no tendency to collect or hoard. So far as we can observe, their reactions are more like those of the monkey: they do reach out and grasp and manipu- late everything, but they drop or throw down the first object and reach for the next until the attendant is wearied. As soon as constructive habits are formed, hoarding may occur. It is usually, though, a struggle from infancy to get the child to keep its playthings collected. One of the hardest habits in the world to form is that of neatness — putting things back into the hoard, both as regards toys and personal belongings. The tendency is all the other wav — toward the monkey, scattering type of be- havior. With money the situation is much the same. Insurance statistics show that only about 4 per cent, of men at 60 years of age have "hoarded" capital enough to give them a living income for the rest of their expected lives. When children start out into the social group, they hoard what the others hoard. For 256 PSYCHOLOGY 256 PSYCHOLOGY one or two months the youngster's pockets are weighed down with marbles, two months later it may be tops. They usually col- lect whatever the group is actually using. Tops give way to roller-skating, an activity in which hoarding is certainly not essen- tial. The earliest hoarding noticed in two children under our observation was of post-cards and letters from the parents and then from friends. But this was done under the very evident suggestion of the attendants.
Habitation. — We quote James: "There can be no doubt that the instinct to seek a sheltered nook, open only on one side, into which he may retire and be safe, is in man quite as specific as the instinct of birds to build a nest. It is not necessarily in the shape of a shelter from wet and cold that the need comes before him, but he feels less exposed and more at home when not alto- gether unenclosed than when lying all abroad...Habits of the most complicated kind are reared upon it. But even in the midst of these habits we see the blind instinct cropping out; as, e.g., in the fact that we feign a shelter by backing our beds in rooms with their heads against the wall, and never lying in them the other way."
There are a great many unanalyzed factors in James' state- ment. For example, he does not tell us at; all what the situation is which leads to such acts. H'is observation of the way people sleep is certainly superficial. Babies and children apparently sleep just as well with the crib or bed in one location in the room as another: as they grow older the habit is formed of sleeping in such a way that vision is not obstructed. Vision is interfered with unless we back "our beds in rooms with their heads against the wall. ' ' Were it not to keep warm or cool, or to be protected from insects, animals and marauders, there would probably be exhibited no tendency to sleep in a bed in an enclosed place. The argument might be turned around just as well: "There is a strong instinct in man to keep away from all habitation and to sleep out in the open. ' ' Just as good a case can be made out for it. ' His whole description seems to be an endeavor to find something in the acts of the human being which corresponds to such acts in the animal. This is very curiously present in all writings on instinct. It is the opposite of the anthropomor- phic description in animal behavior. There we try to make the ani- mal into a human; here we try to make the human a lower animal.
Migration.— It is often asserted that there are two closely related but opposite instincts, one for migration and the other for domesticity. Upholders of these asserted tendencies cite the tramp. Says Flint (quoted from Thorndike) - "I have known HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: INSTINCT 257 men on the road who were tramping purely and simply because they loved to tramp. They had no appetite for liquor or tobacco, so far as I could find, also were quite out of touch with criminals and their habits; but somehow or other they could not conquer that passion for roving. In a way this type of vagabond is the most pitiful that I have ever known; and yet it is the truest type of the genuine voluntary vagrant — to reform him it is neces- sary to kill his personality, to take away his ambition — and this is a task almost superhuman. Even when he has reformed he is a most cast-down person/' The superficiality of this analysis' is clearly evident. There are a great many factors mixed up which are more fundamental than any instinct towards migration, such as homosexuality, pederasty, the reaction against authority, etc. While it is true that a great many children, some as young as two and three years, begin to break bounds and to stay away for several hours at a time, and from seven years on begin to stay away at night, there are usually upon analysis complicating home factors, the example of older boys, etc., to be taken into consideration, which consid- erably weaken the argument for a pure migratory instinct.
Fighting. — Fighting is listed as one of the principal instinc- ^ive tendencies. We have already in part discussed this under emotions, page 217. Where the overt, explicit activity is empha- sized, it is properly classed as an instinct, and an all-important one. It has been so well discussed in psychological literature that it need not detain us here.
Maternal Instincts. — Thorndike says: ' ' To a woman who has given birth to a child, a baby to see and hold and suckle is per- haps the most potent satisfaction life can offer, its loss the cause of saddest yearning. To a woman who has given birth to a child, the baby she sees, holds and nurses appeals almost irresistibly when it gives a cry of hunger, pain or distress, the start of sur- prise, the scream of fear, the smiles of comfort, the cooing, and gurgling' and shouting of vocal play. ' ' A great many other psychologists also idealize the parental behavior in this way. To those who work in maternity wards the situation is sometimes seen to be quite otherwise. We have observed the nursing, handling, bathing, etc., of the first baby of a good many mothers. Certainly there are no new ready- made activities appearing except nursing. The mother is usually as awkward about that as she can well be. The instinctive factors are practically nil. The emotional activity of both parents may be intense, but this is often the result of many factors. The in- fant thus comes as a " loaded ' ' stimulus. Very often the mother 17 258 PSYCHOLOGY O who is unshackled by social conventions behaves quite differently from the way she should behave if Thorndike's pictures were cor- rect. Even in cases where the woman is duly married and there is no reason for a loading or a transfer of an emotional state of an adverse kind upon the child, little maternal behavior of the type described above appears. Society puts the strongest pres- sure upon a conventional attitude with respect to the proper care of the youngster and the emotional attitude which should be- display ed* with reference to it. We are not denying, however, that there are some instinctive factors here. It should be re- called that the nursing of the child and the fondling of it is not without a sex stimulating effect upon the mother.
There is a stronger and stronger tendency among educated women to break away from the sentimental drivel connected with the rearing of the child and to make a scientific problem of it. Just to the extent to which convention permits it, rationalization occurs. This is a strong argument that maternal behavior is not mainly instinctive. Rationalization does not mean that strong attachments of the type we have already discussed may not grow up between parent and child. But regardless of its ultimate analysis we should be the last to undervalue the tremendous role maternal behavior plays in society as a whole.