Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis III 1922 1.djvu/66

 58 * BOOK REVIEWS

influence on the striped muscle apparatus of the personality. . . The term "affective craving" has a distinct advantage in that it can be clearly correlated with its physiological source in the streams of craving or itching sensations that are aroused by increased tensions of different segments of the autonomic apparatus' (p. 2j). All cravings, emotions and sentiments 'can probably be best understood as having a peri- pheral origin in characteristic variations of postural tension of autonomic or visceral segments' (p. 24).

He adopts the same mechanistic view of the personality as does Freud, that is, he regards behaviour as essentially a series of efforts to change the environment in such a way as to expose the person to such stimuli and sensations as will still whatever craving, of either external or internal origin, that may be at the moment a disturbing influence. The way in which he prefers to express this may be gleaned from the following quotations: 'The neutralization theory of the dynamic or autonomic mechanism of the personality is as follows: The different segments of the autonomic apparatus are stimulated to assume different types of postural tensions and activities, which give rise to an affective nervous stream, which, in turn, coordinates the projicient apparatus and compels it to act so as to eaipose the receptors of the organism so that they will acquire certain types of stimuli and avoid others. The stimuli which must be acquired in order to avoid prolonged unrest and distress, which may become decidedly maJnutritional in their influence, must have the capacity to counter-stimulate the autonomic segment so that it will resume a state of comfortable tonus ' (p. 9). 'The egoistic unity can not attack the segmental cravings directly, but controls them through controlling the final-common-motor paths of the projicient apparatus' (p. 13). The same idea is formulated elsewhere as two laws: ' i. When an autonomic-affective craving is aroused, either to compensate for the deficiencies due to metabolism (as in hunger) or through the influence of an exogenous stimulus (as in fear), it com- pels the projicient (striped muscle) apparatus to shift the exteroceptors about in the environment so that they will acquire such stimuli as are necessary to counterstimulate and neutralize the autonomic derangement so that the segment will assume comfortable tensions. 2. The projicient apparatus that shifts the receptors about so as to expose them to appropriate stimuli is organized and coordinated so as to bring a maximum of affective gratification with a minimum expenditure of of energy' (p. 24). 'The conditioning of the autonomic apparatus to react so as to produce pleasure-giving sensations upon the acquisition of certain classes of stimuli, and unpleasant sensations upon being exposed to the presence of other stimuli, is the very foundation of the differences in interests and aversions that are to be met in everyone' (p. 699). In Dr. Kempf's opinion this mode of formulation has great