pleasure-pain principle
- noun
- /ˈplɛʒər peɪn ˈprɪnsəpəl/
- Specialized
:
principio del placer y el dolor
- According to Freud, the pleasure-pain principle explains why children often seek immediate gratification without considering the consequences.
Examples
-
Hobbes had argued that all human actions are derived from calculations of personal interest (the pleasure-pain principle).
Academic text (1993) -
Whereas Hume did not altogether repudiate the pleasure-pain principle, his essay on human passions points out that not all passions are selfish.
Academic text (1993) -
The pleasure-pain principle suggests that our decisions are influenced by the desire for pleasure and the need to avoid pain.
-
In early childhood, the pleasure-pain principle plays a crucial role in shaping behaviors as children learn to navigate their desires.
Synonyms
1
8.6
A strong drive to get what you want right away without thinking about bad results
A part of the mind that wants things now, avoids bad feelings, and treats fantasy like reality
How Immediate
40
6.7
- Specialized
6
6.8
- Formal
1
8.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
pleasure-pain + principle
A B1 learner who knows 'pleasure', 'pain', and 'principle' can reasonably infer this refers to a rule about how pleasure and pain influence behavior because the constituent meanings combine transparently. However, the specific psychoanalytic nuance (the id, immediate gratification, and technical usage) is specialized and not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Pleasure-pain principle comes from a simple picture: people, especially very young children, reach for pleasure and pull away from pain. So, it means our actions are often about trying to 'seek pleasure' and 'avoid pain'.