Originally published in 1925, according to the preface, Instinct: A Study in Social Psychology is the result of many years of interrupted labors that began in a graduate seminar in 1909–1910, when the author attempted to apply Professor McDougall’s classification of instincts to the classification of criminals. The immediate result was the conviction that McDougall’s instincts were habits, and further constructive work found issue in an unpublished report on “Instinct and the Social Sciences,” taking issue with McDougall’s viewpoint regarding the significance of the theory of instincts then prevalent for the social sciences. Finally completed after many years in the making, this work is the result of the author’s investigations on the topic of instinct. Today it can be read in its historical context.
This book is a re-issue originally published in 1925. The language used and views portrayed are a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.
1. Introduction – Problem and Method 2. The Controversy Regarding Instinct and Environment 3. The Organic Bases of Action 4. The Nature of Instinct – Analysis and Criticism 5. The Evolution of Neuro-Psychic Traits – Habits 6. The Evolution of Neuro-Psychic Controls – Intelligence and Language 7. Current Usage of the Term Instinct 8. The Classification of Instincts 9. Some Results of Investigation 10. Origins of the Usage of Instinct 11. Heredity and the Instincts 12. Conditional Development and Delayed Instincts 13. A Reductio Ad Absurdum 14. Some False Instincts Exposed – Maternal, Paternal and Parental 15. Some False Instincts Exposed – Play, Fighting, Construction, etc. 16. Some False Instincts Exposed – Analysis of Contents 17. Some Further Misconceptions Concerning the Nature of Instinct 18. The Nature of the Emotions 19. The Emotions and Sentiments 20. Summary and Conclusions. Index.
Biography
Luther Lee Bernard (1881–1951) was an American sociologist and psychologist. He served as the 22nd President of the American Sociological Association. His pioneering work is said by some to have changed the direction of Social Psychology.
