Abnormalities of Organic Needs and Motives.
Hunger is the organic sensation generates by an empty stomach. Appetite is the craving for food. It may be intensely increased or decreased. The excessive intensity of appetite is an abnormal craving for any kinds of food without discrimination.
There is another kind of excessive intensity of appetite in the form of an abnormal craving for unusual kinds of food such as earth, chalk, or dirt. The abnormal decrease of appetite is due to the lack of the hunger sensation or some other cause and is found in some mental patients who refuse to take food persistently.
The sex need assumes two main forms of abnormality: decrease of the sex drive or sexual frigidity and an increase of the sex drive. These abnormalities occur in both men and women. These are quantitative abnormalities. Qualitatively sexual abnormality takes several forms.
When sexual behaviour is excited by one’s own body, it is an expression of auto sexuality or auto eroticism. It is often expressed in masturbation, which may not be perverted sexual behaviour, but which is an expression of an early stage of sexual development. Homosexuality or sexual inversion in another abnormality of sexual behaviour. In it a person of the same sex excites sexual behaviour.
The sexual craving, is gratified by union with a person of the same sex. It is found in both men and women. Sadism consists in the gratification of the sex impulse by inflicting cruelty and torture on the object of love. Masochism consists in gratifying the sex impulse by inflicting pain and suffering on oneself or suffering pain inflicted by the object of lust.
Both may be found in the same person. Masochism may be a form of sadism directed against oneself. The psychoanalysts regard pleasure and pain both as components of the sexual drive.
The abnormalities of the ego needs are expressed in the feeling inferiority, excessive submissiveness, and self-abasement, or in the feeling of superiority, excessive self-assertion, and self-display. The former may generate “inferiority complex”, while latter may generate superiority complex.
The constant association with superior persons, and ill-treatment and oppression may produce the feeling of inferiority. On the other hand, the constant association with inferior persons, approbation and praise of others, submission of others. self-assertion and self-display produce the feeling of superiority. So these abnormalities of the ego needs are due to environmental factors.
The needs for security may take two abnormal forms: The strong impulse to escape and run away and the strong impulse to repel or fight. A person may rim away from a danger to a place of safety. Or, a person may face a danger, repel and fight it. The impulse to escape and the impulse to fight may be excited by imaginary dangers. These abnormalities are usually attended with emotional disturbances.
The social needs also may assume abnormal forms. There are persons, who have intense love for solitary life, who keep aloof from social groups, crowds and mobs, and who pursue their avocations in solitude. Their love for solitary life is due to lack of gregariousness.
Again, there are persons who are afraid of solitude, introspection and self-criticism, who always participate in social activities, and who are always eager to be in the midst of crowds. Their love for human association is due to excessive gregariousness. Thus there are various kinds of abnormalities of organic needs, personal motives, and social motives.